Day 151

[from Sapporo Lilies]

It's one of the last training sessions before our big first game. While the girls get changed into their football kits, I head out onto the training pitch so inspect it. There don't seem to be any major concerns, which is good. There's not much to be gained from training on a terrible pitch.

I've been trying to get to know the girls, to find out what makes them tick. If I can understand their various individual mentalities, that helps me to put together better strategies. Learning who works well together, who doesn't, who prefers which tactics… it's all important. As the girls filter out onto the pitch, I jog over to have a brief chat with each of them in turn. First to arrive, as usual, is Konoko. "Good morning, Konoko," I say cheerfully.

"Good morning, gaffer!" she says. "Let's do our best, okay?"

"I hope you all will," I say, as she rushes off onto the pitch. Next to come out is Hinata. "Hey, Hinata," I say. "How's the floristry going?"

Hinata seems impressed that I remembered what she does in her spare time. "It's going well, thanks," she says, smiling at me. "Perhaps I'll bring in some arrangements for you all one day."

"That would be nice," I say.

Suzuma is the next player out, but before I can get a word in, she's already sprinting past me. She hasn't been too happy about my attempts to get close to the players. She really doesn't seem to like me at all. I suppose I can't expect them all to like me just yet. Maybe she'll change her mind once we start winning. If we start winning. It's a tough first game we have this weekend.

Next up are Shinobu and Ichiko, eagerly chatting away to each other. It sounds like Shinobu is giving the young striker some advice. "-just try and be subtle about it. Like, when you pass him in the corridors, give him a nice big smile-" That's probably not the kind of conversation I should be listening in on. Sometimes I forget that Ichiko is still in school. Luckily, I'm told the school allows her to miss a certain number of days so she can train and play in matches, although she has to make up whatever time she misses.

Next up is Yuuka, who I don't expect to get much out of. She's not really a talkative person. Nonetheless, I persevere. "Hey, Yuuka."

Yuuka looks over to face me, but keeps walking. "Hi," she says.

"How are you feeling today?" I ask her.

Yuuka shrugs. "I can't complain," she says.

"Okay, good," I say.

I'm about to continue when Yuuka suddenly stops and asks, "How about you?"

The unexpected question, as simple as it is, throws me off guard a little. "Huh?"

"How about you?" she repeats. "How are you feeling today?"

"Uhh… good, I guess," I say.

Yuuka gives me a small smile. "Glad to hear it," she says.

It occurs to me that that might be the first time one of the girls has actually asked me how I'm doing. At least Yuuka's warming up to me, then.

"GANG WAY!"

Before I can turn round to see where the shout is coming from, something suddenly collides with me with tremendous force, knocking me to the floor. As I struggle up onto my elbows, I look around and slowly piece together what has happened. Rika is lying to my left, rubbing her knee and wincing a little. Yuuka is standing over us, looking shocked, and Fiona and Natsume are rushing over from the changing rooms to investigate. As Yura rushes over, looking mortified, I suddenly realize what has happened: the two idiots were racing each other out of the changing rooms.

"What the hell happened?" asked Natsume.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" exclaims Yura. "I didn't think this would happen…"

"I told you both that holding a race in the players' tunnel was a bad idea," said Fiona, shaking her head. "Honestly, how old are you?"

[AUTHOR NOTE: At this point, you will have the option to scold them or defend them]

"I concur," I say, as I climb to my feet. I'm not happy about this. "You could have really injured someone there, including yourselves. If you two wanna run races against each other, do it on the pitch where it's less crowded, and now in the player's tunnel. I don't wanna catch either of you doing something like that again. Understood?"

Rika climbs to her feet, and thankfully it looks like she's not hurt, although her pride's taken a bit of a bashing. "Sorry, boss," she says. "It won't happen again."

Yura nods in agreement. "We promise," she says.

"Okay, good," I say. "Now go and join the others."

As I brush the grass and dirt off my suit, the girls head off onto the pitch, except for Fiona. "Are you alright?" she asks me.

"A little sore, but I'll be fine," I say. "I dunno what they were thinking, though."

"They weren't," said Fiona. "They got too caught up in their little friendly rivalry. But hopefully they've learned their lesson now."

"I sure hope so," I say. "I don't want a repeat of that."

"Me either," says Fiona.

I decide to ask a question that's been playing at my mind ever since I found out Fiona played here. "Say… can I ask you a slightly personal question?" I ask.

"Depends how personal it actually is," says Fiona, smiling.

"What brings a star like you all the way out to a small amateur team on the other side of the world?" I ask. "You could have gone anywhere to retire, so why here?"

"I fancied a change of scenery," says Fiona. "Playing in England was fun, but I felt like I needed something different to end my career with. So I chose Japan. The women's game is big over here as well, plus the views here are really incredible. Sure, I could have gone to America or something, and been paid a lot of money to play, but I think I have enough money already." She lets out a little chuckle.

"That's a pretty mature way of thinking," I remark. "If only there were more footballers who thought like that."

"I agree," says Fiona. "There's too much money in the game these days. Well, the male game, certainly, but let's not get into that right now."

I nod. Not really the best thing to be discussing this early in the day. "So anyway, why Sapporo in particular?" I ask. "Any real reason, or just…?"

"They just seemed like the team with the nicest atmosphere," said Fiona. "I must say, I'm enjoying my time here so far."

"Thanks," I say. "It means a lot to hear someone like you say that."

Fiona smiles. "You're welcome," she says. "Now, shall we go and get started? I think everyone's already out there by now."

"I think so too," I say, clapping my hands together. "Right, let's get things underway, then." Fiona nods, and we both make our way out onto the pitch to join the others.