AN: This chapter has been long overdue. sorry i got real busy with school. that and i got the newest pokemon so there's that
yeah i dont own captain tsubasa
Chapter 5: Announcements
It was weird watching TV at this time of the night, knowing that almost every soccer player in the world was tuning in. The conference would be starting at 9 pm and they only have about 10 minutes before it starts. And his phone would not stop vibrating. There's at least 13 of them in a group chat, and they've all been texting since two hours ago. He knew that everyone was anxious and excited about what was going on. He was for sure. Except maybe the girls, which he was still a little bummed about, because Sanae seemed like she knew what was going on. What's worse, was that she still wouldn't tell him about it.
Well, it's too late to try and ask what this was all about. It's about to start anyway. The officials were starting to take a seat in front of the press and the camera flashes started flicking in his TV screen.
Misaki sent at 8:55 pm
What do you guys think they will say?
Izawa sent at 8:55 pm
I have no idea but something tells me that it would be huge.
Kisugi sent at 8:56 pm
We all kinda figured that when Coach Gamo had us come home early.
Izawa sent at 8:56 pm
Did I ask for your opinion?
Kisugi sent 8:56 pm
Did I ask for you to point out the obvious?
Izawa sent at 8:57 pm
Fuck you
He rolled his eyes and proceeded to tap on his phone.
Easy guys, we're going to know in a few minutes anyway. Just calm down.
His mom put a cup of juice on the table for him as Daichi laid his smaller one beside his and proceeded to climb up his lap. It's actually surprising that their mom let him stay up until 9:30 tonight since he was usually asleep by nine. Well, Daichi's as much of a soccer lover as he was, so he could have some leeway just for tonight.
After Daichi settled himself comfortably on his lap, his phone vibrated yet again.
Ayame sent at 8:58 pm
Yeah, you better be. I actually would like my phone to stop vibrating at least until after they announced whatever they are going to be saying.
Misaki sent at 8:58 pm
Sure, as soon as you stop texting us. You're the only one who wants to see this, you know.
Ayame sent at 8:58 pm
You wanna go, huh? HUH?
Sanae sent at 8:59 pm
Oh my God, Ayame. Just shut up. It's about to start.
And that was the last straw. His phone finally didn't vibrate for the longest time that evening, mostly because his girlfriend was right and they were all starting the conference. The announcer introduced all the officials (something they should have known already), before proceeding to the official business.
Since they were speaking in French, subtitles appeared by the bottom the screen, trying to keep up with the live broadcast of the show. He didn't particularly care about the beginning part, since it was usually something not that interesting. They were just about how the Youth Tournament was and praising the chosen members were the best players the world had seen yet. The usual. He didn't really see point in tuning in at the moment since he was only watching for whatever FIFA was going to do. But, right before he looked away to get a drink from his tea, the subtitles suddenly told something shocking.
"Due to the amount of talent shown by todays' youth, both boys and girls, shown to us by various anonymous people, we of the International Federation of Association Football, through countless meetings and talks, have decided to make the World Youth Tournament into a mix gendered tournament to showcase our youths' talent."
It was as if the whole world paused for a moment. No one, for a second did anything. The subtitles stopped, the camera stopped, the press and the officials didn't talk. Heck, he could even imagine the whole world to be surprised by this news.
Then, as if a dam broke.
Immediately, questions were hurled towards the FIFA officials. The subtitles stopped running across the screen, probably because the translators couldn't keep up with all the questions being asked. Camera flashes started to fill the entire room again but they were more fervent than before.
What was puzzling though, was that the officials didn't seem to be fazed about it.
A person then told everyone to be quiet as the president finally was ready to say something.
"We expect that all of you have questions and we will be glad to answer some of them right at this moment," the subtitles translated President Denzler's remark, "but it will be the questions we have assumed you all must be asking about."
There was another moment of uproar in the room, before they were all again silenced.
The president coughed before talking again. "Continuing on," he said, "As we said before, we have been shown by people we refused to name about this new change that we have made. But even though this happened, it barely changes the World Youth Tournament planned in the summer of next year.
"Some changes in the tournament will be that each team must gather a team of 28 players consisting of 14 boys and 14 girls. Though, we are not changing the 11 players on the field from each team, it cannot be made up of only one gender. There must be at least four of the opposite gender playing.
"We are also not changing the number of referees on the field, but there will be two males and two females looking over the match. This, we believe will help in making unbiased decisions.
"We are also having teams to get another head coach of the opposite gender to balance out team dynamics and we hope by having a female and male coaches present that these children will both learn from them."
President blinked and cleared his throat, "That being said, qualifiers will proceed as planned. It all depends on the countries on how they will train their players. I believe they have started gathering their members since last week. Further news and changes shall be posted on our website. Thank you and have a great afternoon."
The officials all started to stand up and walk from the stage, while the press have started their questions again, but they were ignored as the officials continued to leave as the security guards escorted them out of the room.
He was as surprised as anyone was. Of all things to say, this was not something he was expecting. Hell, nobody was expecting this. He could only stare as another announcement was put on saying that they will be having an interview with President Ono as well as other members of the Association at ten tonight about this news.
His phone vibrated from his hand.
Ayame sent at 9:32 pm
Welp, there it is. That was actually pretty short. They must have really hated getting mobbed by the media.
Except maybe her. Actually he was pretty Sanae knew this too.
Wakabayashi sent at 9:33 pm
Wait, you knew about this?
Ayame sent at 9:33 pm
No! I'm actually as surprised as you are.
Right, like you can ever fool them. Her sarcasm could even be detected from without hearing her speak.
Misaki sent at 9:34 pm
Bullshit Ayame. We can all tell you're lying.
Ayame sent at 9:34 pm
Really now? Prove it
Sometimes, she could get on everyone's nerves.
Izawa sent at 9:34 pm
Wait, so if you know, then Rika-chan probably knew as well!
Ayame sent at 9:35 pm
Why are all of you guys assuming we know about this?
Morisaki sent at 9:35 pm
You weren't exactly subtle about it when you sent that first text right after the FIFA officials ended the conference. Actually I'm pretty sure Shiori-chan and Anego knew about this as well, seeing that you guys are pretty close.
Thank you! Someone could understand what he was feeling. Speaking of, he should really talk with Sanae about this. He was a little upset that she never told him something this big.
Takasugi sent at 9:36 pm
I'd have to agree with Morisaki on this. It was really suspicious with how you texted first, but I guess we have to ask the other girls first.
Yeah, they should and he was about to do that right now.
He opened a new private chat between him and Sanae and tapped in:
Is this what you told me to wait about? Why didn't you tell me?
He didn't mean to sound angry, but he did feel a little annoyed.
Sorry, one sec. I'll call you and tell you everything soon. I promise. Please don't be mad.
He was trying not be, but it was a little hard not to when she was the one who refused to tell him anything.
He turned back to the group chat to see that his friends was asking for the other girls whether they knew about this, but it was only Ayame who was answering.
Shiori sent at 9:41 pm
Give it up, Ayame-chan. They already figured it out. I know you just want to pull on their legs , but why couldn't you just shut up?
Oh, were they serious right now? They did know about this!
Ishizaki sent at 9:42 pm
What the hell? You did know about this.
Rika sent at 9:44 pm
Sorry, but we weren't supposed to tell anyone about this.
Izawa sent at 9:45 pm
Rika-chan how could you? TT_TT
Rika sent at 9:45 pm
Again sorry （ﾉ´д｀）
Shiori sent at 9:45 pm
Yeah, we're really sorry. I don't even know if we were supposed to tell anyone we knew. Sanae-chan's pissed at Ayame-chan though.
Kisugi sent at 9:46 pm
Where is she anyway? I haven't read any text from her.
Yes, where exactly was his girlfriend. He was still waiting for that call.
Ayame sent at 9:47 pm
She's in another group chat with Asaki and the other old U-15 girls (yes that includes us). She's talking some stuff about this.
Taki sent at 9:48 pm
You guys have been talking with them too this whole time?
Ayame sent at 9:49 pm
Uh duh. It's not like you're our only friends. Besides, they're talking about important stuff that deals with how we're going to approach this subject with the boys' soccer teams. But I guess the JFA will talk about it at 10 so they should probably be ending soon.
What, did they already know that they'll be part of the team? This was just making him more pissed off than he expected to be. And Sanae still haven't called yet.
He quickly tapped out a reply to the chat.
Fine. We'll wait until the JFA interview tonight. But, we will all talk about this tomorrow.
He barely even read the following replies when he got a glimpse of Ayame's text saying how scary he was when angry. Frankly, he was too tired for her shit right now.
"You okay, Nii-chan?" He looked down to see Daichi looking at him in concern. "You look scary right now. I couldn't really read the stuff on TV, but I think it wasn't good if you look like that. Was it that bad?"
Did he really look that frightening? He didn't mean to be that way. He was just really frustrated about things right now.
"Did I scare you that much?" he asked his little brother as he ruffled his hair.
"I can never be scared of Nii-chan!" he exclaimed while shaking his head vigorously. "I just wanna ask if what they said wasn't good."
Was it? He thought to himself.
It's not that he was unhappy with the change. He didn't feel anything particular about it, not that he actually had time to think about it for a second.
But now that he did think about it, it didn't seem to be that bad. The prospect of actually playing with girls was a little concerning, since he didn't know whether they could handle their roughness, but with his limited experience playing with their girls, then he believed that it'll be fine.
It's just really Sanae never mentioning this to him bothered him. She would always tell him everything, and didn't he deserved to at least know a few bits of it?
But then again, Rika-chan did say they weren't supposed to say anything about this.
"Nah," he answered, "It was alright. They just said that girls will be playing with us from now on for the World Youth Tournament."
Daichi's eyes lit up in excitement. "Girls will be playing with boys? Does this mean Anee-chan will be playing with you? That's going to be so cool!"
He managed to produce a small smile. He wasn't exactly happy hearing about Sanae, but he'll get over it. Maybe once he heard the full story from her.
"Maybe," he replied as he patted Daichi's head. "I don't know yet. How about we extend bedtime tonight and see what they think about this."
"I have to say no to that," their mom told them as she stood up and took the cups of tea from the table. "It's already way past his bedtime and I'm not extending it. You just have to tell your brother all about it tomorrow." Then she gestured for Daichi to get off him as she proceeded kiss his hair a good night and to leave the living room. "Come on, Daichi. Time for you to go to bed, sweetie."
Daichi made a whining sound, but followed suit anyway. He was trying to tell their mom that he wasn't tired yet and he really wanted to watch some more, but knowing their mom, she probably wouldn't let him stay up later than it already was.
He managed to keep his smile until after Daichi left, but it soon turned into a frown once he looked at his phone once he saw that she still hadn't called him and the JFA interview was starting right now.
He's not even that angry at her, just really upset. Whatever, he'll wait for that call, and if it meant the whole night and he'll stay up.
He turned back to the TV after sending a text to the group chat to give their attentions back to the TV since it wasn't just President Ono being interviewed, but Coach Gamo was there as well. Since he was the head coach of the current World Youth team, they'll probably be asking him what he thought of this huge change.
Sure enough, that was what he was asked by the interviewer.
"I was surprised big time," Coach Gamo answered. "I mean, they told me to release my players early because we're having a big meeting at headquarters. I didn't know anything until at that meeting last Friday, a day after the members left the training center."
"Oh, so Associations have known this longer?"
"Each country's football association have known about it since about three weeks ago," President Ono answered. "But aside from higher members, the next people to know about this were the female coaches we have deemed perfect for this job. I believe that was how the other countries have done it as well. I also think it was by FIFA's directions that is what we should have done. They were the ones in charge of scouting the potential girls to be part of the team."
"Oh, yes," the interviewer said. "And from what was just said a minutes ago, they have already been picked?"
"Yes," Coach Gamo replied, "And to be honest, our female coach made great choices. I didn't knew we had such talented youth in the girls' selection."
Wow, Coach where have you been? The girl's tournaments have been as competitive as the boys are. His girlfriend was one of the best players in the country, no matter how much he was upset with her right now.
"That she did," President Ono agreed. "Though, of course we shouldn't have expected any less from her."
"Ooh. Would it be alright to ask who this coach is? She must be amazing to be praised by you, Ono-san."
"We don't mind introducing her," the President said, "Actually I believe she's here tonight to announce with Coach Gamo here the selection team they have gathered for this event."
"How exciting! It's actually making me nervous to know who it is."
"Trust me, Japan, especially Japanese girls, already look up to her, I'm sure everyone will love her more," Coach Gamo assured, then he turned to the President. "Would you please, Mr. President."
"Yes. Please let me introduce to everyone the female head coach of the Youth Team, Natsukawa Kaede-san."
Natsukawa Kaede? She sounded familiar. He remembered Sanae mentioning her sometime whenever they talk about great players today.
The middle screen showed a few clips of the Japanese Women's Team, specifically focusing on a woman in a ponytail, before it split in half, opening and revealing the same woman.
Wait, she was the captain of the Japanese Team when they won the Women's World Cup three years ago? Holy shi- This changed everything.
"Natsukawa Kaede? Oh my," the interviewer remarked as Natsukawa-san walked towards them, "I never would have guessed. Suddenly, this whole tournament just turned better than it already was."
"Please, I don't think I make that much difference," she chuckled before she bowed and thanking them for having her. Then she took a seat beside Coach Gamo.
"My, I can just imagine how amazing it must feel like to be chosen as a coach," the interviewer remarked towards her.
"It has," she replied with a smile. "Especially since I managed to interact with many talented players. I can't wait to start training with them."
"They must be great players."
"Oh they are. I've had my on them, well these girls anyway, since I've seen their matches about two years ago. I really believe that if we combine them with the boys Mr. Gamo has trained, then we have a high chance of winning the tournament."
"What makes you say that?"
Natsukawa-san showed a small mischievous smile. "Well, most of my girls did win the Girls Junior Youth Tournament two years ago."
"Wow! They're that strong? The world would be in for a quite a treat then," the interviewer remarked. "You said that they'll be combined with Mr. Gamo's boys. What exactly mean by that?"
Coach Gamo and Natsukawa-san shared a look, before turning President Ono, who gave them a nod. They smiled before turning back to the interviewer.
"What Natsukawa-san meant," Coach Gamo started, "is that, the boys will still be the ones originally chosen to participate for the tournament, before all these changes were made."
This time, they made the live feed smaller and put it on the bottom right corner as they showed the name and pictures current members of his team.
"It's only the girls who were quickly scouted," Natsukawa-san continued on. "And almost everyone should know them. Not only have they've been in the Girls Junior Youth Tournament, they're also very prominent players in the high school leagues. In fact, all of them had a tough battle in this summer's National Championships."
This time, they showed the girls chosen one by one, their names and picture were shown as well as a small clip of some of their matches.
Somehow, when he saw Shiori-chan's, Rika-chan's, Ayame-chan's name, he knew he wasn't going to be surprised when he sees her name.
"I have fate that these girls would continue to bring glory to Japan," Natsukawa-san said as her name finally appeared, the last one to be introduced to be exact.
"And with how talented the boys are as well, Japan will really be a formidable enemy this time."
His phone started to vibrate erratically, and he took a deep breath when he saw who it was.
It was Sanae calling.
End Chapter
AN: there's some tension going on right now with tsubasa and sanae, even though that last chapter they were just so sweet. i dunno, i guess tsubasa was just being a dumb baby because he wanted to know it sooner. i mean i dont really think this was a big of a deal, but realistically, i think almost anyone would make a big deal about this. i mean it is actually a huge change and tsubasa probably wanted a heads up about it, and he knew how to get it. sanae just refused to tell him because she wasnt supposed to.
please don't be mad i made tsubasa a little angry, i just think it was necessary for them to have a little misunderstanding. i wanted to portray them as real people in a real relationship, where sometimess couples do have little fights (something we didn't exactly see in the CT manga, but its a shonen manga so they don't really need it. technically its not even targeted for the female audience, no matter how big its female fanbase is). i just hope i did it right. unfortunately, i have no experience with this kinds of things so yeah.
i guess in the next chapters we should see how Japan and the whole world took this news. maybe
thanks for reading and please review! see you soon