Chapter 662: Kumiko’s First Experience Watching Schalke II!

Two days later, Kumiko found herself walking with Sakura in this new town, marveling at the scenery around. Oh, no, it was not about its natural beauty. Gelsenkirchen was more famous for the factories and its pollution, after all. No, they were truly in awe at the fact that so many people were marching toward the stadium, not even their team’s main stadium, just to support the second team fighting in the fourth division.

"Come on! You are so slow! We are going to be late!"

"Hey, calm down! The players will not go anywhere!"

"Fuck! I want to see Higo warming up on the pitch! It has been a long time since I saw him there!"

"Kumiko-chan, it seems your boyfriend has made a name for himself here." Sakura couldn’t help but whisper. "I mean, look at the people around. They talk as if Higo-kun is the best thing coming to the world, you know?"

"Yeah..." Kumiko nodded quietly, somehow feeling so proud of the boy. While she had heard his story about people’s enthusiasm here, and while she also read so many posts on social media where Schalke’s supporters showed their love toward Higo, seeing it with her own eyes was a completely different matter.

In her mind, she recalled Higo’s situation in the past, about how the boy would always refuse to join anything just to maintain his ’NPC’ persona. Who would’ve thought that the boy who thought he would be nobody would be someone this big, being so loved by a city far away from his own hometown?

Soon enough, they were finally able to enter the stadium. This Neues Parkstadion was no bigger than the stadium back in Hakodate, but Kumiko had never seen people back home being so enthusiastic about football like this. Hell, this was just for the first team, so the girl couldn’t wait to see the atmosphere herself when Schalke’s first team played in their big stadium.

Still, the girl made a vow to herself. She would never go to that stadium until Higo’s debut for the first team. She wanted her first time there to be her witnessing her best friend’s glory, the debut that he had imagined since he came here for the first time. Until then, Kumiko would stay patient, waiting from the stands of this small stadium.

As her thoughts wandered far, cheers suddenly exploded from the stands, enough to distract the girl instantly. When she turned around, Kumiko could see chatter from the people around her as everyone was so excited at one person’s presence on the pitch.

"HIGO! HIGO! HIGO!"

"Damn, you are our warrior! Show them what it means to play for the badge!"

"Come on! You are our Wakabayashi!"

"They call him Wakabayashi, Kumiko-chan! Oh, the boys have to hear about this!" Sakura giggled as she recorded everything with her phone. "Still, this kind of support just for one guy is crazy! If I don’t know better, I would think he is a world superstar or something like that. Hiroki would never..." She muttered under her breath.

"Oh, don’t sell Kawabe-kun short, Sakura-chan. He is already good enough back home." Kumiko patted her shoulder reassuringly.

Still, Sakura could see her friend had the corner of her lips twitching in amusement. It seemed that Kumiko also found the new nickname to be quite funny. Still, this showed how loved the boy was by this town, as people here were even willing to search for the legendary figure in an old anime to be compared with Higo, and Kumiko couldn’t be prouder than this.

She also saw the familiar boy waving at the supporters during his warm-up, and when the crowd replied to it with unwavering cheers, her heart that she thought was full enough swelled with more pride, her eyes somehow teary.

"You okay?" Sakura asked, noticing Kumiko’s state.

"No... I mean, yes, I am great." Kumiko wiped the tears on her face quickly. "I just never thought he would be able to stand on this stage like this... I mean, I don’t know what to say here." She laughed a little, trying her best to stop tears from falling down her face.

"... Well, at least, you should be proud of it." Sakura smiled gently. "Even Hiroki-kun hasn’t been accepted in his team yet, and your boy has been the town’s new hero here. At least, I can say that in terms of reputation, he is far ahead of the rest of the boys from the Young Samurai team."

Kumiko nodded once again here, letting herself enjoy the proud feeling of having Higo’s name being chanted so loudly by the team’s supporters. "I am always proud of his achievement, Sakura-chan, and I don’t care about his reputation here. I just hope he can have fun on the pitch. For me, that is the best thing I can ask for."

Sakura’s face softened a moment before she nodded quietly, knowing her friend’s priority.

Soon enough, the melancholy atmosphere around them was finally gone as the players from both teams stepped out of the tunnel. It was a moment before the game started, and looking at Higo stepping onto the pitch so casually as if this was just the ground in Hakodate, Kumiko couldn’t help but smile once again.

’Yeah, it doesn’t matter where you play the game at. Just treat the training session as the real game, and think of the real game as a normal training session, and you will be alright. It seems you remember that, Ryukkun.’

Once the coin toss was over, Higo also walked to the goal on the northern part of the pitch. He still glanced around, probably trying to locate where Kumiko would sit. Unfortunately, the distance was too far to the family stand on the western side, and the time here was too short for him to find her.

FWEEE!

A moment later, the referee finally blew the whistle, starting the game between Schalke II and SC Velt. Right off the bat, the supporters in the stands cheered once again, and this time, Kumiko and Sakura also joined the crowd.

"COME ON, SCHALKE! COME ON, HIGO!"