Chapter Text
Continuing from the end of Episode 12:
"Oh, Minato, we've reached our goal. Can you rewrite it, please?" Captain Jojima Jo asked, handing a whiteboard pen to Minato.
"Are you really asking me to write it?" Minato asked with a puzzled expression.
"Uh-huh," Jojima answered, walking out of the club room, leaving a stunned Minato alone. Minato looked at the pictures filled with his happy face from the time he had memory loss and his teammates, and thought to himself:
"What would you write, Minato, if you were in my shoes?"
Two weeks later
The atmosphere in the water polo club room in the evening was the same as always, but what differed from two weeks ago was the message on the board that had changed to "The seven of us will become the best of Japan" written by Minato. What remained unchanged was the heated atmosphere outside near the swimming pool, just like every day.
"Hey, you're swimming too tensely, Ejiri. I've told you countless times not to be so tense. When will you ever swim faster?" Amihama approached Ejiri, who had just emerged from the water after a 45-minute swim practice.
"I've already told you I'm trying, but I don't understand what you're saying. And when I try to swim the way you explain, you keep criticizing me. How can I not be tense?" Ejiri replied with frustration.
"Do you not understand, or do you not listen?" Amihama replied with a harder tone.
"I don't understand, alright? You explain it like I'm already a great swimmer, which I don't get, you know?" Eiji retorted. Luckily, before Amihama could reply, Captain Jojima stepped in to intervene.
"Alright, alright, let's practice slowly, and it'll get better. Arguing every day like this is even worse than a married couple," Jojima joked to lighten the tense atmosphere. "Let's call it a day. Time to stretch, everyone." Jojima spoke while directing others to stretch, and as usual, Minato would yell back,
"You guys go ahead and stretch. Let me practice some more."
"Is it because of me, Minato-san didn't get enough practice and has to do it alone?" Ushimado spoke up while sitting down to prepare for stretching with the others.
"It's not just you. I'm struggling too. Being a defender isn't easy, you know?" Inomata (or Babi) added. Upon hearing this, the captain decided to end the conversation.
"Alright, let's stretch together then." But even though Jojima said that, he couldn't help but think the same as Ushimado and Inomata, wishing they had a coach to help.At the same time, not only Jojima was thinking this way, but Oka was also thinking the same. The senpai... are still trying to reach that point, huh? But if they have to give advice and practice like this, both the senpai and Ami-Ami, can we really reach the goal on the board? Oka thought while glancing at the message on the board in the club room.
"I'm back," Minato said as he closed the door behind him.
"You're late again, big brother," Kiyomizu Asumi, Minato's younger sister, remarked from the dining table where only Minato's meal had been laid out. As Minato walked over and sat down beside her, he looked more exhausted and preoccupied than usual.
"Sorry, practice has been running late lately," Minato apologized, picking up his chopsticks to start eating.
"It's okay," Kiyomizu Taeko replied, then added, "Just don't push yourself too hard. By the way, is there something bothering you today?"
"Nothing," Minato curtly responded, lowering his head to continue eating. Taeko and Hideki exchanged worried glances.
"National level... Do you think I can lead the team to become national champions at this point?" Minato suddenly asked, catching everyone at the table off guard. They knew Minato had changed since the accidents, but they never expected such a question filled with uncertainty to come from him. Deep down, however, Taeko was glad that Minato was finally opening up more to his family.
"Not in your current state," Asumi replied bluntly.
"Asumi..." Taeko called out to Asumi, fearing that Minato would become upset.
"But it's true, mom. He's not in his best physical condition, and the team has been practicing without a coach. Even I have a coach for my music practices..." Asumi continued, not stopping. But at this point, Minato wasn't listening anymore. He was stuck on the words "without a coach" and abruptly stood up.
"Minato..." Taeko tried to console him.
"Thanks for the meal," Minato said before turning around and heading to his room.
"I'm sorry, mom. I didn't mean to, but..." Asumi apologized, thinking that her brother must be furious about what she had just said. However, their mother, who had seen Minato's face before he turned away, didn't think so.
"I think he's more concerned than angry," Taeko told her daughter, who looked at her father for confirmation. He nodded in agreement. Both Minato and Asumi were growing up so fast , Hideki thought to himself.
A coach... Right . If things continued like this, the goal they had written on the board - to reach the national level as a team of seven - would never come true. They only had one more year to play together. Minato thought as he lay down on his bed. Images of his junior high school days playing water polo at Shogakukan junior high school under Coach Bizen floated through his mind.
"Kiyomizu, you're out of position! You're swimming too slow, hurry up!" Coach Bizen urged Minato, who had lost his position during a practice match against third-year seniors.
"Kiyomizu, your flexible shoulders are your special weapon. So focus your training on your shoulders and your core to prevent injuries," Coach Bizen advised Minato, who had just started his second year.
"This year, I'm making you the captain, Kiyomizu. Please take care of this team," Coach Bizen said after the summer competition in his second year had ended, and Minato's team, with him as an ace, had managed to reach the national level's runner-up round.
Coach...
The next morning, Minato woke up early to get to school quickly, so he could discuss the matter with the captain. While cycling there, he came across Chinu, a girl he secretly liked from Rika High School next door. Due to his fast cycling, he almost didn't brake in time, but fortunately, Chinu managed to dodge and wasn't hurt.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to. Are you okay?" Minato asked with a concerned look, offering a helping hand.
"I'm fine, thank you," Chinu replied as she got up and stood properly. Then, the two walked to school together, but neither said a word. Since the end of the prefecture qualifying round, Chinu and Minato hadn't talked due to their busy schedules with practice or, in Chinu's case, the regional Chūgoku competition. Chinu had a lot on her mind since witnessing Minato's transformation during the prefecture competition, so she decided to start the conversation.
"Um, I wanted to say…" Chinu began hesitantly, stopping in her tracks, which made Minato halt as well.
"I want to apologize for lying to you before, though you probably don't remember. And I also want to say sorry for speaking harshly to you before the prefecture competition," Chinu said while looking up at Minato, who was checking the time on his wristwatch.
"Oh, that? Don't worry about it. I've been harsh with others too, so I deserved it. Oh, I'm running late! I have to go. Good luck!" Minato said quickly before hopping back on his bike and cycling away, leaving Chinu standing alone. Hmm, “so I deserved it”, huh? You've changed a lot, haven't you? Chinu thought to herself.
Minato, who had been hurrying on his bike, arrived at the same time as Jojima. Just as he said, "Captain, can we talk for a moment?", Jojima coincidentally said, "Minato, I have something to discuss with you." Both of them laughed.
"Let's go talk in the clubroom then," Jojima suggested, leading Minato to the clubroom. But when they arrived, they found Oka sitting alone, deep in thought, in front of the clubroom.
"Senpai, Captain, what brings you here?" Oka asked.
"That's our question too," Minato replied.
"Well, I… I have something to tell you both," Oka said.
"What is it? Go ahead," Jojima encouraged Oka to speak.
"Well, I think our team needs a coach. If we want to reach the national level, having Amiami and Minato-senpai plan our practice and give guidance is good, but it means Minato-senpai won't be able to practice fully. And Amiami… I don't mean to criticize him, but he doesn't really know what he's doing when teaching," Oka explained his thoughts, providing reasons. Both Minato and Jojima were taken aback and stared at Oka.
"I was actually thinking of discussing this with you too, Minato," Jojima said.
"You too? I was going to talk about this with you as well, Captain. I think we really need to find a coach," Minato added.
"So, what do we do now? I don't know any coaches," Oka asked.
"Hmm, my dad might know someone. After all, he used to be the captain of this water polo club. He probably knows some people. But first, I'll talk to Tajima-sensei, our club advisor. It seems like there's a budget for hiring coaches for each club, and we might be the only club that hasn't used it. For today, let's just practice as usual. I'll make an announcement tomorrow about what we'll do," Jojima said. Both Oka and Minato nodded in agreement.
After today's practice session ended, Jōjima hurried home to consult with his father about the situation. He didn't have to wait long for his father to arrive, and Jōjima helped him with dinner preparations. While eating, Jōjima asked his father if he knew anyone who had played water polo before and could possibly be their coach.
"Dad, do you know anyone with experience in water polo who could coach us? I think it's time for our team to have a proper coach if we want to compete at the national level," Jōjima said nervously.
"Let me think... Oh, I remember someone named Miyuki Kosei. He was my junior when I was the captain of our water polo club. He was a first-year prodigy who led the team to nationals for the first and only time in our school's history. Everyone thought he would join the national team or play at the club level, but he didn't. No one knows what happened to him, and he never attends any water polo alumni gatherings," Jōjima's father recalled thoughtfully.
"But dad, if no one knows or has seen him, how can he be our coach?" Jōjima asked, puzzled.
"Well, I once saw him running a restaurant with his two younger sisters called Keiko in the Kuroshiki area," his father replied.
Miyuki Kosei, Keiko restaurant in Kuroshiki...
The next day, Jōjima discussed the matter with Oka and Minato. Oka wasn't familiar with the name, but Minato felt he had read about it somewhere, although he wasn't certain and didn't say anything. At lunchtime, Jōjima told their advisor, Tajima-sensei, about the situation, who approved with one condition: the coach must come willingly. Tajima-sensei would try to contact Miyuki-san first. Jōjima happily agreed but was soon disappointed when Tajima-sensei told him before evening practice that Miyuki-san had declined the invitation. However, Tajima-sensei gave Jōjima hope by saying, "Why not have everyone on the team personally invite him? He might agree."
Jōjima relayed this idea to the rest of the team, explaining why they needed a coach. Everyone agreed, and they decided to visit the restaurant the next day after school to talk to the potential coach. Little did they know that a chance encounter would soon change the course of their journey and introduce them to the person who would help them unlock their true potential as a team.