"It's Just Soccer (Chapter)" (たかがサッカー TBA) is Chapter 64 of the Ao Ashi series, written and illustrated by Yūgo Kobayashi and based on a concept by Naohiko Ueno. This chapter was published in the 33rd issue of Big Comic Spirits' 2016 series.
Summary[]
Hana Ichijō receives a message from Anri Kaidō saying Ashito hasn’t returned to the dorms and is likely devastated by the news of switching to defense. She finds him at a bus stop, withdrawn and unresponsive, and brings him to the Esperion dining hall where she cooks him a full meal. Ashito remains quiet and emotionally stunned, asking how Hana knew where to find him. Hana explains her reasoning and tries to gently guide Ashito toward emotional clarity. When Ashito still shows signs of emotional detachment, Hana calls his mother, Noriko, and puts the phone to his ear. Ashito silently cries while Noriko comforts him, offering to let him come home if he wants. After the call, Hana encourages him with a simple message: “Isn’t it just football?”—finally getting Ashito to acknowledge the food and start eating.
Synopsis[]
The Chapter begins with Hana Ichijō biking late at night while receiving a message from Anri Kaidō. The message states that Ashito has not yet returned to the dorm because he is in shock that he needs to switch to Defense. Hana eventually finds Ashito Aoi at the bus stop, staring dejectedly at the ground with a glassy look in his eyes. As Hana tells Ashito to stop having such sullen expression, she asks him if he has eaten anything yet. Hana then drags Ashito to the Esperion Players' Dining Hall and sneaks them both in through a window. She says that since neither the Adult team nor the Youth Players used the kitchen today, it is perfect for what she wants to do. She has Ashito sit anywhere while she busies herself in the kitchen making a meal for them to eat. She also mentions that she knew that the kitchen and dining hall went unused today since she used to work there part-time.
ana makes Ashito a meal and tells him how she found him at the bus stop
Eventually, Hana finishes preparing the meal of rice, miso Soup, karaage chicken among other things. As Hana digs in, Ashito just sits and slowly asks Hana how she knew where he was. Hana matter-of-factly states that since she got the message from Anri, she knew Ashito would want to be alone, and since he was still in his game jersey and hadn't returned to the dorm yet so she was able to eliminate the town and the station as possible areas of Ashito's whereabouts. She then deduced that since the revelation of being told to switch to defender must have been pretty hard on him so she thought that Ashito's thoughts may have been back towards his hometown of Ehime which led to Hana finding him at the Bus Stop.
As Hana says it was lucky for her to find him, Ashito says that he doesn't even remember going to the bus stop and how his brain seems to be barely working even now. As Ashito says to Hana that her older brother, Tatsuya Fukuda, is quite terrible, Hana buts in by saying that there is always a deeper meaning behind what Fukuda does. However, she does realize how attached Ashito was to goalscoring and how tough it may be on him. Hana then asks if Ashito wants to quit being at Esperion, but Ashito says that he can't quit and to give him a little bit of time to get back to the dorms. He starts to apologize to Hana for going out of her way to make food for him by saying he's not hungry but Hana quickly dials Ashito's Mom on her phone and quickly presses it to Ashito's ear.
After the call with Noriko, Hana says to Ashito that she doesn't like him saying that he can't give up with such a empty look in his eyes and to not drive himself into a corner.
Back in Futami, Noriko steps out of her bar and answers Hana's call. Ashito however doesn't start speaking but starts quietly crying. Noriko quickly understands that it is Ashito at the other end of the line and tells him that if it is not working out, it is always as simple as coming back home. Ashito slowly says that nothing happened and that she doesn't need to worry about him at all. Noriko understands that her son is hiding something from her but agrees nonetheless to which Ashito quickly hangs up the call. Hana then says that she knows that Ashito came to Esperion with a lot of burden's but she just can't handle seeing the glassy, blank look in Ashito's eyes while he says that he can't quit. She says that while she might not understand Football, she wants Ashito to think of it as "Isn't it Just Football?" and says that his mom is truly a good person. This talk with Hana slowly kicks Ashito back to his normal state where he finally sees the food in front of him and asks Hana if he can have it. Hana momentarily stands in shock, before giving a wide smile and tells Ashito to have at it.
Highlights[]
- Hana sneaks Ashito into the Esperion dining hall and cooks him a heartfelt meal.
- She deduces Ashito’s location by understanding his emotional state.
- Ashito silently breaks down after hearing his mother’s voice.
- Hana reminds Ashito not to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.
- Ashito begins to recover emotionally, ending the chapter by asking for food.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Hana Ichijō
- Ashito Aoi
- Noriko Aoi
- Shun Aoi (Background)
Chapter Notes[]
Trivia[]
TBA
References[]
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| Chapters | 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 | Volumes | 7 • 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episodes | 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 | Seasons | 1 |
| Chapters | 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 | Volumes | 3 • 4 |
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