Chapter 896: Meeting Acquaintances

Higo turned around quickly, only to find two Japanese people looking at him curiously.

The first was a handsome man, though his face looked a little old, with a wrinkle starting to form on his forehead. Still, his sharp jawline sure would be enough to melt all the girls’ hearts back home.

As for the second one, the man looked slightly younger—though still older than Higo—with long hair covering his ears. Unlike the first man, he looked quite calm even though a little bit awkward, telling Higo that he shouldn’t be that good at socializing.

Even before they introduced themselves, though, Higo had already known about them beforehand, so he greeted, "Kamada-senpai? Hasebe-senpai? You are waiting for me?"

Those two were taken aback for a second before the older one, Makoto Hasebe, laughed. "So, you know about me? It is an honor that the best youngster that the country has ever produced knows my name before I introduce myself!"

Yeah, those two were Makoto Hasebe and Daichi Kamada, the two Japanese players who managed to become the pillars of Eintracht Frankfurt. They had been in that team for so long, being key players who always got into the main team all the years they were there.

Hell, Hasebe was even more ridiculous. The man was already 37, and yet he was still the main defender of the team, showing that he didn’t lose any edge against the youngsters in Frankfurt. That alone was a testament to his consistency and discipline, the two things that any aspiring young player like Higo could learn.

"You are exaggerating, Hasebe-senpai. I am still far from Honda-san, Kagawa-san, and many other greats in our history." Higo smiled politely, trying to be humble here.

Well, not just trying, but the boy himself still believed that he was far from the greatness that people back home always talked about. After all, compared to the legendary players like Keisuke Honda, Shunsuke Nakamura, or Shinji Kagawa, his career was still at the starting line, far away from all of those big names in the annals of history.

"Hah! You are being too modest! Don’t think we don’t know the miracle maker, the one who saved three penalties in one game!" Hasebe laughed, patting the boy on the shoulder firmly.

"Anyway, you are from Hakodate, right? My wife is from Sapporo, so it is quite often for me to go there. If we have a chance, let’s hang out together, okay? Show me the best place in Hakodate!"

Well, wasn’t that a good surprise? No wonder Higo could detect Hokkaido-ben, the accent of his hometown, in the man’s voice.

As for Daichi Kamada himself, the man was pretty quiet in that short meeting, but before they left to go back to their own team, the man hugged Higo firmly while also muttering, "Keep up your performance, okay? Everyone is waiting for you in the national team."

That was when Higo realized that with their achievement here, they should be a regular in the Samurai Blue team. Still, Daichi Kamada’s words were at least enough to confirm one thing here.

"So, people from the Samurai Blue have also started to notice me, huh? Damn, this is going to be awesome..."

The boy had a reason to be ecstatic right now. After all, his best memory after being in the football community was fighting together with all the Young Samurai members in the World Cup U-20 a few years ago. Now, he was quite curious about what it felt like to be in the senior team, wondering how big the difference would be.

Meanwhile, those two went straight to Morita, and it was clear that they were chatting once again, with the two seniors wanting to catch up on the youngsters in Schalke’s team.

Higo himself didn’t move for a moment, pondering about everything before someone snapped him off his mind with a pat on his shoulder.

"Yo, Higo! How have you been?!" Another familiar voice popped up, this time with a Middle Eastern accent. When Higo turned around, his smile spread from ear to ear when he saw that it was Nassim Boujellab, his good friend from Morocco, as he took the initiative to hug the boy.

"Nassim! It’s good to see you again!" He grinned before scanning Nassim Boujellab’s body with his scrutinizing eyes. "Well, I have to say that I am surprised here. I thought your injury and you being on the bench would only make your body deteriorate, but it seems that you are back at your peak again, right?" He whistled, impressed.

"Well, what can I say? Only those who are ready would have a chance to play." The Moroccan winger shrugged helplessly. "Still, it seems that you have been doing great so far, being the best goalkeeper in the league. I am so happy for you."

Higo grinned here, but the boy could also notice that behind the heartfelt congratulations, envy and bitterness hid well behind his friend’s tone. "What, you regret moving to Frankfurt? If you are still with us, you would still be our main man, you know?" He asked teasingly.

If anything, Nassim just gave the boy a wry smile, punching him on the shoulder lightly. "Don’t tempt me like that. I have already made peace with my current situation, and I will work hard to earn my place in this town. So, nothing you say will change my mind."

"Atta boy!" Higo laughed. "That’s how your mindset should be! Don’t think too much about the past! Just go and make sure that you will not regret anything in the future!"

They chatted for quite a while, and some guys who knew Nassim well enough, like Fabian Reese, Jonas Hofmann, and Morita, came as well to say hello. In the end, though, they all got called to get back to each other’s team, so after one last dap, Higo couldn’t help but grin.

"Well, just sit tight, Nassim. Let me show you how far I have improved since you left the team! Who knows, maybe I can force you to get your ass out of the bench today!"