7 [7] Aoba Academy

Leaning against a wall, Izumo was staring at his toy watch and looked as if he was waiting for someone else.

After a minute of waiting, someone finally ran toward Izumo and called out to him.

"Izumo!"

Izumo turned his head sideways and looked toward where the shout was as he could see a familiar boy in the distance.

"You're late, Kirito"

"It's Haruto!!"

"Uh-huh"

Izumo nodded and shrugged his shoulder, ignoring Haruto's angry rebuts.

"So, which direction?"

Izumo asked, clearly ignoring Haruto's feelings as he could only let out a sigh of defeat.

"It's this way"

Haruto answered, pointing in a certain direction as he proceeded to move toward there while Izumo followed behind nonchalantly.

"By the way, how's the training I asked you to do? Any progress?"

"Y-Yeah"

"Hmm..."

Izumo stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes, staring directly at Haruto's eyes which made the boy pressured and nervous for some reason.

"How many red signboards did you pass when you got here"

"Uh..."

Haruto panicked and grabbed his head, attempting to recall how many red signs he had seen on the way here.

"T-Two... signs?"

The atmosphere was deadly silent as Izumo just stood there, looking at Haruto with a deadpan gaze.

"You didn't practice it at all, didn't you?"

"N-no! Of course not"

"Sure, buddy"

Izumo rolled his eyes and resumed walking, leaving Haruto behind with a question mark on his face.

"Wait up!'

Haruto ran and caught up to Izumo with an indignant face.

"I trai-"

"Seven"

"...?"

"There were seven red signs"

Izumo declared without looking back at Haruto as he kept walking with his hands in his pocket, looking quite carefree.

Hearing this, Haruto felt a bit stunned before he quieted down and felt doubtful at the authenticity of his words.

"Don't believe me?"

Izumo smirked after seeing the suspicion in Haruto's eyes and stared at the boy with a smug look.

In fact, he was hoping the boy would be doubtful of his words so he could show off for a bit.

"Two signs were from a restaurant, three were from stores, one was from a motel, and the last was from a pharmacy"

"..."

"You can fact-check it if you want me. Well, after the whole campus tour thing is done anyway"

Haruto hushed and took a few seconds to process the words Izumo spoke before he turned his head and stared at him dubiously.

"How do I know you didn't prepare this answer beforehand?"

"You don't, it's up to you whether you'll believe me or not"

"..."

"I'm merely hinting at you the usefulness of the training method I gave to you"

"Use... fulness?"

Haruto asked and tilted his head, catching on to the term in his words which Izumo smiled in response.

"Indeed"

Izumo nodded and didn't say anything more as he wanted Haruto to figure it out for himself.

If Izumo gave every answer to his question then Haruto would cease thinking independently and instead rely on him which would be detrimental to his career

He wanted the boy to think critically as well as nudged him to train more in the training method he gave to him.

As for the thing he asked Haruto to do, it was about vision training.

A training method to hone and improve one's vision as well as learn how to analyze and process the information on the field.

It was something he had taken inspiration from a manga similar to Blue Lock.

Ao Ashi.

Unlike Blue Lock which focuses on individual plays and is more like a power fantasy-type genre, considering every character seems to have perfect movement and positioning.

Ao Ashi on the other hand emphasized more on team plays and tactics with hints of realism in their plays.

There were a lot of things Izumo could learn from it, especially formations and tactics such as the Five Lanes, Walford, man-to-man, N-Box, and...

Well, you get the point.

If Izumo ever needed to improve his playmaker skills then Ao Ashi is the thing to look for but for individual skills, Blue Lock will be the choice.

'Hmm, there were also quite a few fascinating ideas in Ao Ashi I could take'

Izumo thought and brushed his chin, recalling a few techniques such as reading the opponent's vector and using the hand to feel the opponent's movement.

'I should take the chance to practice them'

Izumo thought and nodded at himself, acknowledging how handy these techniques would be in a match.

"Ah! We're here"

Haruto suddenly shouted which interrupted Izumo's thoughts as he focused his gaze in front.

"So, this is the famous Aoba Academy, huh..."

Izumo commented and had to admit that the buildings looked quite grand, fitting for its reputation of being the best school in Kansai.

Though hearing the name of the school, he did recall a certain soccer anime in his childhood.

'Good times'

Izumo and Haruto then proceeded to step inside the Aoba Academy and looked around, taking in everything around them.

It wasn't long before they were approached by a female staff and asked for their purpose here.

"We're here for the campus tour"

"Ah! Then right this way, kids"

The female staff smiled and led the two to the school's plaza where they were then told to stay and wait with the other visitors.

"T-This is so cool!"

Haruto exclaimed, clearly excited and eager to explore his dream school.

"Cool? Haven't you been here before?"

"Yeah, but I was only allowed on the soccer field since they had a match that day"

"Oh..."

Izumo nodded in understanding before he turned his gaze to his surroundings, observing the other guests and the plaza itself.

'Hmm, although the buildings are great. Everything else seems... average, I suppose'

Izumo thought and didn't look that impressed after he finally got a good look on the inside.

"I've seen better"

Izumo muttered and looked slightly disappointed, not realizing he had unconsciously compared this school to the other world-class institute he had seen in his past life.

And for about half an hour or so of waiting, the female staff finally came back and introduced herself to everyone.

"Pleased to meet you, everyone. I'm Sakura and I'll be your guide for this tour"

Sakura politely bowed and so did everyone else in response as she formed a professional smile on her face and told everyone to follow her.