บท 23: Three New Club Applicants

As the manager of the flag football club, Aiko had a lot on her plate. The previous day's events had already made things more complicated, and now she had even more to deal with. Sitting at her desk, she reviewed the application forms Kaminari had handed her that morning.

The first form belonged to a delinquent. His name, Ryuji Kazama, was scrawled across the top in bold letters. Aiko frowned, remembering his reputation for causing trouble around school. She couldn't imagine why he'd want to join the flag football club.

Black hair and snake-like black eyes were his prominent features and he was known for bullying his upperclassmen. He had been on community service a couple of times and was even suspended from school for the majority of his first-year.

And now, he was coming back. Aiko had no idea how much had changed, but there was no way he was able to turn his character around in just three months.

Still, Aiko had no choice but to believe in him. The principal especially mentioned him to her, and it would look bad if she was prejudiced about him. At the very least, he would give him a chance.

'And then, we'll see how it goes from there.' Aiko muttered to herself as she flipped to the next application form.

The second form was from a fourth-year who had to repeat a year for three years. His name was Daichi Toriyama. Aiko sighed, knowing that he might face challenges fitting in with the younger students.

For one, he was once a part of the flag football club. But after a bad game in the regionals, he quit, and no one has heard from him since. He was a very good center player that could even play the role of a quarterback if needed.

What was even weirder was that he quit right before the end of last year's term, and now he wants in?

Aiko couldn't quite put her fingers around it but something smelled fishy in his application. Nevertheless, she wanted to be optimistic, hoping that he had really overcome what happened in the past and was now ready to play flag football again.

The third form was peculiar. It had only a name on it: Yukishiro Ouji. There was no other information, not even a contact number. Aiko had no idea who this person was, and the lack of details made her uneasy.

She figured that the applicant was a first-year since this was the first time she heard of the name before.

"I'll deal with it later," Aiko muttered to herself, setting the forms aside. It was lunchtime, and she had more pressing matters on her mind. She was planning on having lunch with Sota again, hoping to continue their conversation from earlier.

As she made her way to the cafeteria, Aiko's thoughts were a whirlwind of worries and strategies. She needed to figure out how to handle the new applicants, especially Ryuji Kazama. His involvement could either be a disaster or a surprising asset, depending on how things played out.

When she arrived at the cafeteria, she spotted Sota sitting at their usual table, already eating his lunch. She walked over and took a seat across from him.

"Hey, Sota," Aiko greeted him with a smile.

Sota looked up, surprised. "Aiko, what's up?"

Aiko sighed, pulling out her own bento. "I've got a lot on my mind. Kaminari handed me some new application forms for the flag football club."

Sota raised an eyebrow. "New applicants? That's good, right?"

"Well," Aiko hesitated, "the first one is Ryuji Kazama."

Sota blinked in surprise. "The delinquent?"

Aiko nodded. "Yeah, and the second one is Daichi Toriyama. He's a fourth-year who's had to repeat a year three times."

Sota frowned, contemplating the situation. "And the third?"

Aiko rolled her eyes. "Yukishiro Ouji. He only wrote his name on the form, nothing else."

Sota chuckled. "Sounds like you've got your hands full."

"You have no idea," Aiko heaved a sigh, taking a bite of her lunch. "But let's not talk about that now. How are you feeling about the game yesterday?"

Sota shrugged, looking away. He knew that Aiko was going to talk about it again. "I'm still not sure if I want to join the club, Aiko." He responded.

Aiko reached across the table, placing her hand on his. "Sota, you were amazing out there. We need you on the team."

"I'm not playing... not anymore." Sota was internally screaming at this point since Aiko grabbed his hand out of nowhere. As gently as he could, he pulled away, thinking that that would be enough for Aiko to let go.

However, Aiko's gripped got even harder. "I understand, but we believe in you. I believe in you. Please, won't you at least consider?" She asked, her vibrant nature leaking out although she was practically begging for Sota to join.

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Riku, who came over to join them. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Nothing much," Sota replied quickly, pulling his hand away from Aiko's. "Just talking about the club."

Riku raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile on his lips. "You two seem pretty close these days."

Awkward silence.

"Well, I got some things to take care of. Enjoy your lunch, Sota-nii."

As Riku left, Aiko and Sota finished their lunch in relative silence. The weight of their earlier conversation hung in the air, but Aiko was determined not to give up on Sota.

After lunch, they parted ways, heading to their respective classes. Aiko couldn't shake the feeling of unease as she thought about the new applicants and the uncertainty surrounding the club's future. But she also felt a renewed sense of determination. She was going to make this work, for the sake of the team.

And maybe, just maybe, she could finally convince Sota to join the club.

—

The rest of the day passed in a blur, and as the final bell rang, Aiko gathered her things and headed towards the clubroom. She needed to review the applications again and come up with a plan.

Upon entering the clubroom, she found Kaminari waiting for her. "Hey, Aiko. Any thoughts on the new members?"

Aiko sighed, handing him the forms. "It's a mixed bag. We'll have to see how it goes."

Kaminari nodded, looking over the applications. "Ryuji Kazama, huh? This should be interesting."

Aiko couldn't help but agree. "Yeah, let's hope it doesn't turn into a disaster."