The next day, Tai woke up early, did his morning jog, and ate his game-day breakfast. He then kissed Sora goodbye and left to meet his team at the stadium. The game was not until 3pm so Sora took it easy in the morning with her own workout and casual breakfast. She then went out to get some groceries for the week and before she knew it, it was time to go to the game.
Getting to the stadium was a straight shot on the metro, one of the main reasons why Tai bought this condo in the first place. When she arrived, her VIP badge allowed her to bypass the thousands of people standing in line to get in. She made her way to the family section of the stands and said hello to a few of the other players' family members who were all as eager as she was to see their loved ones play. It was the finals after all!
Once she had settled into her chair, she couldn't help but scan the box tier for any sign of a certain blonde Frenchman. She swallowed a lump in her throat. She couldn't believe he was here, in the same building as her brother. This could be disastrous…
When the teams entered the field, Sora cheered wildly along with her fellow fans. She saw Tai look directly at her and she gave him a wave. He responded with a thumbs up. He looked confident, but this was going to be a tough match. The Australian team was no joke.
Soon, the game began and the crowd roared with cheers and applause. Both teams were playing with everything they had. The ball was going back and forth and back and forth. No one seemed to be able to keep it for very long.
Half an hour had passed and no one had scored yet, despite some amazing attempts, but there were even more amazing blocks. The players on both teams looked determined to succeed. Tai had made some extremely daring moves, but his usual flair wasn't getting him any goals today. The Aussie defense was ranked number one this season so it was going to be tough to get anything past them.
The referee blew the whistle for half time. The score was still zero to zero. The crowd was getting anxious and rowdy so it was good it was time for a break in the action. Sora felt a buzz in her pocket. She took out her phone to find a text from both Matt and Tai. Tai's read, "Ugh, tough first half…" Matt's read, "I'm up in box 2 if you want to come see the view!"
She quickly responded to Tai's text first. "But you look great out there. They're tough but you can beat them!"
She then scanned the box tier again and managed to see Matt standing at the window with a drink in hand. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, something Sora had never seen him in before. At work he was always in suits. Seeing him in a more casual look made him look even cuter than before.
Ugh, you need to stop thinking things like that, Sora, she berated herself. She turned back to her phone. It would be rude to not accept his invitation. She had time to run up for a quick look. "Coming!" she responded to Matt's text.
She had been to the stadium so many times, she knew exactly where to go, and within minutes, she was up at box 2. The security guards let her through once she gave them her name. Matt had texted her that he put her on his guest list.
She knocked on the door and it was quickly opened.
"Sora!" Matt said happily. "Glad you could squeeze in a visit!"
Sora laughed. "Oh don't worry, I've always wanted to come check these boxes out," she said.
Matt gestured with his hand for her to enter. There were other men in the box, one of whom she recognized as the Japanese branch president of her company. "Ota-san!" she said and quickly bowed.
"Sora," he said with a small bow back. "Illouz was just telling me all about your project and how you'll be leaving for California soon. Congratulations!" he said in perfect English.
"Th-thank you, sir!" she said.
"I showed him some of your sketches that I had on my phone," Matt said.
"Very impressive," Ota said nodding his head.
"But now's not the time for work," Matt said putting a hand on Sora's back. "Let's have a little celebratory drink in Sora and her brother's honor. He's got a half ahead of him, but with the way he's playing, I think it will bend in his favor."
The other men all expressed their agreement and raised their drinks.
Matt quickly handed Sora a glass of champagne. "Cheers to you, mademoiselle," he said with a wink.
Again with the sexy wink… Sora laughed nervously and then raised her glass. After some brief conversations with some of the other men who were all higher ups in her company, Matt led her to the window.
"You've got to see this," Matt said gesturing to the front wall of the box that was completely made of glass.
"Wow, it's amazing," Sora said, wide-eyed. "I've never been up here before."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I've always been closer to the field. But from up here you can see everything so clearly!"
"It's definitely a great view," Matt laughed. "And speaking of views, it's nice to see you in something other than work clothes." He playfully elbowed her.
As usual, Sora felt a blush immediately cross her face. "You too, Mr. Suit," she teased.
"Oh, is that what people call me?"
"Maybe…" she smiled coyly at him and took a sip of her champagne.
"Well, when we're in San Francisco, we'll have to make some time to do some casual things," Matt said. "You look great in a jersey." He winked at her again.
Sora laughed. "And you in a t-shirt!" she said. "Yeah, that sounds nice. I've never been to California before."
"You'll love it there. I'll take you to some of the National Parks and Napa Valley. That area is just full of natural beauty. You'll fit right in."
Wait, was that a flirt? Sora thought. "Oh, uh, I hope so," she said clumsily.
Matt saw that she looked slightly taken aback. "We'll of course get to working on your building right away. I'm just saying life isn't meant to be lived working all the time."
"Of course!" Sora agreed, eager to put the flirtatious remark behind her. "It's just still so hard for me to think that this is really going to happen. That design is something I've been dreaming of and working on since I was in high school."
"I could tell that you'd really given it a lot of thoughtful details. Everything was so meticulously drawn out. You're really something, Sora."
"Thank you," Sora said softly. "You are far too kind."
"Nonsense," Matt laughed. "I'm just glad I get to work with you more. I think we'll make a pretty stellar team."
"Yes, I think so too," Sora said and looked up at him. Her gaze was met with his piercing blue eyes. As much as she wanted to look away, she felt entrapped by them. The color was so brilliant, it was nothing like anything she'd seen up close before, and yet they had a soft gentle feeling to them. If given the chance, she could lose herself in those eyes.
Suddenly the announcer came back online giving the fans a five-minute warning and snapping Sora out of her trance. She quickly looked down, blushing madly. "I-I should get back," she said with a nervous laugh.
"Of course," Matt said in a surprisingly soft tone.
She could almost hear a hint of disappointment, as if he wanted her to stay with him. But she knew Tai needed her to be where he could see that she was supporting him. This game was so important to her brother, she needed to make sure she was there for him. "Thank you for letting me come up here," she said. "It's amazing."
Matt smiled and offered her his arm. "I'll walk you to the door."
She smiled back and took his arm. The two made their way across the room to the exit. Matt opened the door for her and she stepped outside. "I'll see you soon," Matt said putting her hand to his lips.
Sora nodded, as a lump in her throat prevented her from speaking. She smiled and then quickly walked off back toward her seat. The second half was about to start!
The game had already started by the time Sora made her way down to her seat. She hoped that Tai hadn't noticed. There were still no goals on the board, but suddenly, the opponent's team captain somehow got away from Tai, and he managed to maneuver the ball within striking range of the goal. The defenders swarmed around the goal, but he kicked an incredible shot, just high enough out of reach in the top left corner of the net. Goal.
The crowd was stunned. It wasn't often that someone could out-maneuver Japan's superstar team captain. Sora saw that Tai was extremely agitated as the other team celebrated the first goal of this championship game.
Sora couldn't help but feel that maybe since she wasn't where Tai expected to see her, he was somehow distracted and that made him lose a hint of focus. Was she the one that caused this? Sora felt extremely guilty as she looked on at her brother. But the game must go on.
Minutes passed by quickly and still no other goals were scored. All too quickly, the clock crossed the 90-minute mark and the referees added the extra time that had accumulated throughout the half. It was do or die.
The crowd was going nuts as there had been a number of extremely close calls. Especially for Tai. He didn't let another ball get past him, but at the same time, he couldn't quite sink one into the net either. Some of his teammates were close as well, but the Australian goalie was the best in the league. If something didn't change soon, they were going to lose.
"Come on, Tai," Sora whispered to herself while the crowd raged around her. The other family members of the team were hollering at the top of their lungs. These last couple of minutes were it. The tension in the stands was palpable. Sora could only imagine the pressure Tai must be feeling.
The last minute started counting down and one of Tai's teammates was running the ball down the field. Tai was close by ready to strike when the time was right. All of their training and long practices had come down to this.
Suddenly the men on the field began stepping up the speed and the ball was kicked, lightning fast, to Tai. This was their last chance. In a gravity-defying move, he kicked the ball up and over his defender and sprinted past him. The other men hardly had time to see what was happening, let alone react before Tai leaped into the air before the ball had come down and aimed a powerful sideways kick at the goal.
Time seemed to slow down as the ball soared through the air and men in slow motion ran towards it.
As Tai's body hit the ground, the ball was grazed by the goalie's fingers sending the ball slightly upward. But the spin Tai had put on the ball was just enough that it curved down at the last second to hit the back of the net. Goal!
The crowd erupted. In the frenzy, food and drinks went flying and banners were waved. People held up huge signs of Tai's face and jersey number. It was the most incredible goal he had scored yet this season and it came at the most crucial moment. At literally the last minute, he had tied the game.
Sora and a woman sitting next to her were holding each other and jumping up and down like madmen. The noise was deafening and it wasn't stopping. No one could even hear any of the announcements or music playing from the stadium speakers because the crowd was so loud.
Tai's teammates all gathered around him pulling him to his feet and burying him in a group hug. They were rightfully celebrating, but the game wasn't over yet. It all came down to penalty kicks and the Australian goalie was ready for them.
After the excitement had calmed enough for the players to organize themselves on the field, they lined themselves up in kicking order. Australia went first, and as good as the Japanese goalie was, the ball easily caught the back of the net.
Tai was the first to go up for his team. With seeming ease, his ball sailed right into the net giving them a 1 – 1 tie. The Aussies responded with another goal, 2 – 1. Daisuke was up next. Tai put an encouraging hand on his shoulder as he walked past. This goalie may be the best in the league, but penalty kicks were still more than likely to go in, if played correctly. Daisuke took a deep breath in, then slowly approached the ball. At the last minute, faked it to the right but kicked it to the left.
The Australian goalie almost read him correctly and the ball just sailed past his hands into the net. It was an incredibly close call. 2 – 2.
The stands erupted in applause and shouts.
After another Australian ball went into the net, 3 – 2, Haruto stepped up to the plate. In an unfortunate turn of events, his ball was blocked so the score was still 3 – 2. He walked back to his team shaking his head. Sora could see Tai give him some words of encouragement. It wasn't over yet.
4 – 2. Shinjo sunk his in. 4 – 3. Now if Australia could get this penalty in, the game was done. Tai's goalie, Kenji was in hyper-focus mode. The entire stadium went silent as the players on the field got into position. The Aussie player lined himself up, and slowly jogged up to the ball.
Tai could read that he was going to fake left and kick right. From the look on Kenji's face, Tai knew that Kenji knew too. As predicted, the player's body moved left but kicked right, and Kenji threw himself to the right. The ball landed squarely in Kenji's arms as he fell to the ground. The crowd went wild with excitement. This game was a game of close calls apparently!
Not wanting to wait for the momentum to die down, Ren, quickly got into position. He had a feeling it was going to go his way. There was no way he'd miss this. In a risky move, he ran at the ball full speed and sent it up in the air, but luckily those shots were his specialty. The goalie barely had time to react as the ball sailed right over his fingers. 4 – 4. The sound in the stadium was off the charts. It was back to the first kickers again, both of them team captains.
Tai and the others all hyped Kenji up as he went back to the goal. If he could block this shot, then Tai could finish it off. Kenji readied himself against the Australian team captain. Tai and the other Japanese players were all linking arms in support of their goalie.
The Aussie team captain took aim, tried a fake, but then sent the ball right down the middle into Kenji's waiting hands. A big mistake. The stadium was in complete pandemonium. This was it. With Tai kicking again, there was no way they could lose.
Sora saw Tai look for a brief moment in her direction. She and some of the other women in her section were all holding each other in anticipation. But she gave Tai her most confident encouraging look. Hopefully he saw it.
Since her seat was so close to the field, Sora could see a glint in Tai's eye. He's got this, she thought.
Tai lined himself up. The crowd went silent. He was used to pressure. He thrived on pressure. He slowly approached the ball knowing that the goalie was dissecting his every move. He turned right, then left, and then faster than the human eye could see, he kicked the ball far to the right aiming for the corner.
The goalie had miraculously read his direction correctly, but as he leaped to the right corner, his reaction was too late as the ball whizzed by his fingers into the corner of the net. Japan was now the AFC champion.
If it was even possible, the sound of the crowd exploded louder than ever before. Drinks and food were flying through the air. Full grown men were sobbing in their seats. What an incredible game!
Sora and her stand-mates were screaming and jumping up and down, hugging each other tightly. She knew they would win. She had the utmost confidence in her brother and since he was feeling good the night before, she had already anticipated this win for them. But now that it had actually happened, it was the most amazing feeling. She was so happy for Tai.
In the chaos and confetti, she hadn't noticed that Tai had run across the field and was now jumping up onto the railing of her stand area. He had just won the AFC championship, but the first thing he wanted to do was embrace his sister.
Sora pulled herself away from the other women and ran down to the front where she threw her arms around her champion brother. He held her so tightly that he almost tipped backward nearly taking her down to the field with him. He wanted nothing more than to kiss Sora right then and there, but cameras were flashing everywhere and thousands of eyes were on them. He would have to wait.
Sora pulled back so she could look at his face. His expression was one of pure joy which made her heart fill with happiness. It was incredible how far he had come from where he began. How their father abandoned them, and their mother got addicted to drugs, going from one man to the next all so she could get a place to sleep and some pills. How poor, neglected, and hungry they grew up. But then he was the one who had the courage and the will power to get them out of that situation. He was the one who saved her. Now he was a world champion.
"I'm so proud of you," she shouted over the crowd, a tear rolling down her cheek.
Tai drew her back into another hug, but soon his teammates were behind him pulling him back to the field. They were all wrapped in Japan's flag jumping and hollering at their victory. Sora watched them carry her brother off. He deserved this.
The team carried Tai all the way to a stage that had been rolled onto the field where they were setting up the post-game interview. First their coach was called up on stage, but it wasn't long before he invited Tai to go up on stage with him.
"How does it feel to be an AFC World Champion?" the interviewer asked.
The crowd roared in applause before Tai could answer.
Tai smiled and bowed his head to the fans. His eyes swept over his teammates as they all cheered at the top of their lungs.
"Not too bad," he said with a laugh.
The crowd started back up again with laughter and applause.
"I'm just kidding, it feels…incredible. Nothing like it!"
Roaring applause.
"This must be something special for you, Tai. As team captain you've led this country's team all the way to the top. Last time Japan was in the finals was before your time with the pros. How did you manage to do it?"
"Well, first and foremost, my team here-"
They started hooting and hollering, jumping up and down in excitement.
"I mean, they're just the hardest working people I've ever had the pleasure of playing with. We come from all different backgrounds and walks of life, but when we get on the field, we are unified."
More thunderous applause.
"It comes as no surprise that you have been named this season's MVP," the announcer said excitedly. "So you have the honor of receiving the championship trophy on behalf of your team."
Tai saw his coach come up with the trophy. He covered his face to hide his emotions.
His coach grabbed one hand and raised it into the air placing the trophy in it. The crowd went absolutely nuts. An entire minute passed before it was possible to hear anything else. Tai finally got a hold of himself and held up the trophy with both hands in victory.
"Anything you want to say before we let you go celebrate?" the announcer asked after the applause had died down a bit.
"Yeah, I just want to thank my team, my coach, and my sister, the only family I have. You believed in me. You supported me and I wouldn't be anything without you. You have my back and I have yours, always. I love you. Now time to celebrate!"
His teammates rushed up on the stage as they encompassed Tai in frenzied celebration.
Tears flowed freely from Sora's eyes as Tai finished his interview. She knew that he loved his team, but those words were meant only for her. He wanted to say that he loved her in front of the entire world on international television.
A rooftop skyscraper bar and pool had been reserved for the team to celebrate. There was a DJ and the place was filled with the team and their friends and family.
"Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!" a crowd chanted surrounding four of the players, including Tai, who were chugging beers at an alarming rate. They all dropped their cans and crushed them with their feet. It was like the most expensive, ritzy college frat party you could imagine. People were dancing, relaxing in the pool, and the drinks couldn't be poured fast enough.
As excited as Sora was, she thought it was best to stay out of the limelight, so she found herself seated next to the pool with some friends she had gotten to know over the past few months from sitting with each other at games. She kept an eye on her brother as he celebrated like the frats did back in Chicago.
"Sora, is it true?" a question from one of the women she was sitting with snapped her attention back to the conversation.
"Oh, sorry, I couldn't hear you!"
"I said, is it true that your brother is still single?"
"Oh! Y-yeah, as far as I know!" she said with a sheepish laugh.
"You think you could introduce me?" another lady said batting her eyelashes.
The others in the group laughed.
The lady laughed too for a bit but then snapped back to Sora. "But seriously, do you think I could meet him?"
Sora was a little taken aback. She was actually very serious and Sora saw that look of vixen determination in her eyes. "Uh…" She turned her head toward where she thought her brother was.
To her surprise, Tai had made his way over and slumped on the same lounge chair as Sora, slinging an arm around her sloppily. He was clearly very drunk.
"Oh, here he is now," Sora said with an awkward laugh.
"Hey, Sor," he slurred.
The other girls immediately gathered closer as they all started trying to talk to him.
Ugh, this is exactly why I tried not to be next to you, Tai! she thought as she struggled to slip out of the throng of girls eagerly vying for her brother's attention.
Tai was so drunk at this point that he didn't even realize Sora had slipped away, and he ended up leaning on some other woman who was just over the moon that he was touching her.
Sora finally made it out of the crowd and turned around to catch a glimpse of drunk Tai "flirting" with the ladies. She couldn't help but laugh. She then turned back to get herself another drink when she ran straight into someone else knocking their drink to the ground.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed as she instinctively bent down to grab the glass the drink had been in.
"No, it's totally fine," a man's voice said and Sora felt him grab her wrist to keep her from leaning down to pick up the glass.
Sora looked up to see one of the Tai's teammates, Ren.
"It's open bar anyway," Ren said with a laugh.
Sora laughed with him. "Right! Well at least let me get you another one. On the house!" she joked.
"I'll take it!"
The two made their way to the bar. "What were you drinking?" Sora asked Ren.
"I'm more interested to know what you're drinking," Ren said with a wink.
Sora laughed. "I was just going to get myself an old fashioned."
"Oh, you're a bourbon girl, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so! Those years in the US changed my taste."
"Then let's get two, shall we?" Ren signaled to the bartender. "Hey, can we get two old fashions?"
"Yes, sir!" The bartender turned to make the drinks.
"Sora, right?" Ren said leaning against the bar.
"Yeah, Tai's sister," she replied taking a seat.
"Oh, we all know you're Tai's sister," Ren said with a laugh. "He's always talking about you."
"Oh god, what's he saying about me this time?" Sora rolled her eyes and laughed.
"It's nice to actually meet you though," Ren said. "I see you in the stands at all our games, but Tai never introduced us."
"How rude of him," Sora said with indignation. "Well, it's nice to meet you too, Ren."
"So you were in the States? How long?"
"Three years. Did some of my schooling there, but luckily found a job back here…"
The two made friendly conversation. Some might even say they were flirting. Especially Ren. He was inching closer to Sora as they continued talking. Sora wasn't completely drunk but she was definitely tipsy and didn't mind having a normal conversation with a cute guy at the bar. It made her feel kind of normal for once. Tai was being smothered by other ladies, so why couldn't she just have a little fun and flirt with Ren?
With the music pounding and the drinks flowing, Sora was eventually letting her guard down a little too much when suddenly she noticed that Ren had put his hand on her thigh. She didn't want to be rude and brush it off, but at the same time she didn't want his hand there either. She began to think of ways to get out of the conversation as naturally as possible.
"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?" Ren said leaning in. A hungry smile crossed his face.
"Oh, uh, thank you…" Sora said leaning back in her seat.
"I'd love to take you home tonight," Ren said in her ear. "Wanna get out of here?"
"I, uh," Sora was struggling to find words to say. Definitely one too many drinks.
Ren placed a small kiss next to her ear where he had just whispered into.
Sora suddenly stood up from the seat knocking Ren's hand off of her thigh. "No-no thanks," Sora said and turned to walk away. She felt his hand grab her wrist. "Let go of me!" she said more coherently and tried to yank herself free.
Ren reached out to grab Sora's other arm, when out of nowhere Tai shoved Ren back against the bar countertop.
"What the fuck?" Ren yelled angrily.
"Stay the fuck away from her," Tai said with a slurred growl.
"Don't fucking tell me what to do," Ren spat back.
"Tai, it's fine," Sora said quickly and put a hand on his arm. "Just drop it."
"No!" Tai said and shook her hand off. "She doesn't want to go with you so back the fuck off, man!"
Ren stood up straight looking ready for a fight. "I'll back off when I want to, asshole," Ren said slightly puffing out his chest, his hands clenched into fists.
Sora saw that Tai was about to throw a punch so she grabbed his arm again and pulled him back. Luckily it caught Tai by surprise so he stumbled backward a bit allowing Sora to drag him off.
By some miracle, not too many people witnessed what had just happened, so a crowd wasn't forming.
"Tai, don't be an idiot," Sora scolded him once they got out of range from Ren.
"That fucking asshole was making moves on you!" Tai said hotly.
"So what? That doesn't mean you start a fight!" Sora shot back. "I was handling it just fine."
"Didn't look like that to me!" Tai raved angrily waving his hands.
"Stop being so overprotective! I'm a full-ass adult! I can handle a jerk like Ren."
"Sora, I don't want anyone touching you like that, ever!" Tai nearly shouted. "So what if I'm overprotective?"
Sora sighed in frustration. He was clearly in an inebriated state. Staying here could be extremely risky as she ran through the scenarios in her head. Tai could get so uninhibited that he might try to do something with her in front of other people. That would be EXTREMELY bad, especially now that the whole world was watching Tai. The rumors would start and he would be shamed. It could cost his entire career. She refused to let that happen.
"Ok, we should go home," she finally decided.
"What? Why?" Tai asked still in slurred speech.
"Because I feel like you're about to do something stupid," Sora said as she grabbed his hand and led him to the exit.
Since the party was still going strong, no one seemed to notice when they slipped inside the door, leaving the rooftop rager.
Sora led a stumbling Tai to the elevator and down to the ground floor where she had the valet order them a taxi.
At this point, Tai was sloppily saying all sorts of nonsense, all the while asking Sora where they were going.
During the car ride home, Tai was beginning to lose his ability to focus so Sora had to help him out of the taxi. Saito, their dutiful concierge, saw them from the entrance and ran out to help shoulder Tai into the building and all the way up to their condo.
Inside, Sora could only get the groggy Tai to the couch. There was no way she could take him upstairs. Once they landed on the couch, Tai immediately started laughing for no reason.
"God, Sora, I'm so drunk!" he giggled.
"Yup," Sora said and took his shoes off. She stood back up to see a smiling Tai looking up at her as he lay on the couch. "Unless you can walk yourself up those stairs, you're sleeping here tonight."
"You're so mean," Tai said and pushed himself up to a seated position. "I did just win the AFC championship, ya know."
"I know, Tai, and I'm very proud of you," Sora said patting his head. This was the goofy Tai she knew from childhood.
Tai laughed but then suddenly pulled Sora down to the couch next to him.
She yelped as she fell but then couldn't help but start to laugh as Tai began to crack himself up. "You're so stupid," Sora said between laughs.
"Yeah," he said grasping her hand. "I know I am."
"You're stupid but you're a badass champ," she said looking over at him. His sloppy smile made her laugh again. "I'm proud of you, Tai," she then said in a softer tone.
Tai's ears perked up at this. He regained a little composure and cupped his sister's face in one of his hands. "I'm nothing without you, Sor," he said seriously.
"Don't be ridiculous," Sora said putting her hand on his. "You'd succeed with or without me."
Tai shook his head. "No," he said still with a slight slur. "What I said after the game…that was for you."
Sora smiled. She already knew. "You know I feel the same way toward you," she said.
"I've been waiting to do this," Tai said as he leaned in for a kiss.
Sora closed her eyes as their lips met. For being as drunk as Tai was, he was incredibly gentle with his kiss.
The two laid on the couch for a few more minutes, holding each other and planting little kisses on each other's faces. But soon, the alcohol took over and Tai fell asleep.
Sora paused for a moment to watch her brother as he lay next to her with his eyes closed. She brushed some of his messy hair out of his face and smiled. He looked so peaceful. He looked so content. This was what she had always wanted for him. Soon her eyelids became heavy and she too drifted off to sleep.