Chapter 354 Handicapped


    ??Huff!! Huff!!


    Panting heavily whilepletely bathed in perspiration as he ran circuits around the field he was currently in, Hiro kept his legs going despite the pain that was coursing through his legs. It had already been over 2 hours since he began running, and God knows how manyps he had alreadypleted.


    To forget that incident from yesterday, Hiro had been tirelessly runningps around the field, deliberately trying to exhaust himself. But even with all these efforts, he couldn''t bring himself to forget about yesterday''s match.


    Yesterday, though they had won the game, but at what cost?


    It was at the cost of losing two of his most cherished skills for the next game; lightning steps, and hawk eyes.


    Sure, even without those skills, he was still pretty fast and aware. But the element of surprise those skills brought along with it, he could never imitate by solely relying on himself.


    And also considering the importance of the uing match, it was really a poor time to lose those skills. With two fewer skills, his performance would for sure be affected in the uing match not to mention the threat that was heading their way. After that shitty disy in the previous match, it was almost guaranteed that the Argentinian team would bounce back even stronger.


    With such worries in his mind, he couldn''t bring himself to forget about the matter of losing two of his most useful skills.


    Suddenly, he came to an abrupt stop as he came up against Takeshi.


    Without beating around the bush, even before Takeshi could open his mouth, Hiro spoke briskly albeit sounding a little out of breath, "I already told you yesterday....., it''s not your fault. So....., you don''t have to apologize"


    But those words had no effect on him. And neither did it console him nor convince him to head back. He was still adamant about his decision to apologize to Hiro.


    Waiting for Hiro toplete his sentence, Takeshi stood there wearing a solemn look on his face. Then just as Hiro finished his sentence, he spoke, "Yes, you said it yesterday too. But, I still feel like I owe you an apology. I can''t just act as if nothing happened after spilling water on your efforts. So, please allow me to say this..."


    "I''m sorry Hiro" Takeshi continued after pausing for a moment to breathe as if to filter his thoughts or to muster up some courage.


    Dragging this matter would only lengthen the conversation, which Hiro desperately wanted to avoid right now. He wanted to forget about that incident so that he could focus his attention on the next match, cool-headedly.


    And just to clear his mind, he had been running tirelessly to the point that his feet were starting to convulse with pain. But now Takeshi was ruining his effort by bringing that matter.


    Unwilling to speak more on this matter, Hiro then epted his apology, "It''s alright. If you''re really apologetic then just do your best in the next game. If you do that I''ll consider that you''re sincerely sorry about yesterday"


    Upon hearing Hiro''s response Takeshi felt as if a burden was lifted off of his shoulder. If Hiro had said otherwise or tried to console him by saying that it wasn''t his fault, he would have felt really sad. But now that Hiro acknowledged his true feelings, he was really happy about it.


    A smile bloomed on his face as he nodded his head and answered in a rather determined and cheerful tone, "I''ll do my best"


    Sure, by agreeing with him, Hiro avoided talking further on this matter. Truth be told he wasn''t bothered in the slightest by that miss from Takeshi.


    If it had happened other days, he would have simply smiled. But yesterday, he was only bothered by it because of the quest. If it were not for the quest, let alone being bothered by it, he wouldn''t have paid it any heed at all.


    ???? ????


    Inside a brightly illuminated room, a silhouette of a person could be seenwhile at the same time some scribbling noises could be heard.


    "That''s right, now I get it" The person mumbled enthusiastically as he took some steps back from the board in front of him.


    His brown eyes which were looking at the board was glistening with realization and excitement.


    "If I y Mateo in the middle, our formation would be much more stable. And I should probably move him to the right..." Mumbling such, he treaded forward toward the board.


    Raising the marker he held in his hand, he then started to scribble again.


    After a while, he heard a sudden knock on the door.


    Knock!! Knock!!


    Right after the knock, a husky voice echoed from outside the door, "Diego, it''s me Gonzalez"


    Diego centae who right now was 47 years old was the head coach of the Argentinian u17 team.


    A rather young fellow among most of the coaches present in the tournament, his appearance defied his age.


    With barely any visible wrinkles on his face, a rather clean shaven face and lush deep brown hair devoid of any grey hair, he had a rather handsome manly appearance.


    "Come inside" Diego spoke while continuing with his task.


    Twisting the handle, Gonzalez slowly pushed open the door and entered the room.


    "Have you figured out what changes you wanted to make in the team?" Gonzalez questioned as he entered the room, his tone sounding rather polite but still hiding the urgency behind it.


    Gonzalez, his assistant coach, albeit a lot older than him, was rather respectful towards Diego. And, it wasn''t simply because he was his senior. It was also because of the talent Diego possessed and his attitude.


    Diego however didn''t reply to his inquiry and kept on going with his task.


    Taking notice of Diego''s actions, Gonzalez too didn''t pester him further on that matter. Instead, he moved closer towards Diego and patiently awaited his reply.


    Diego then lifted his marker and retracted some step.


    "What do you think of it?" Diego asked.


    Gonzalez took a look at the board. And the more he looked at it and tried to understand it, the more he was drawn into it.