My Goalkeeping System

Clark had to leave just after filling Dave in on everything they had to take care of after his match tomorrow and although Shinobu wanted to leave with him, Emma insisted that she stuck around for a little while, only if she wanted to of course.

Shinobu didn't seem to be in a hurry so she decided to oblige her.

It seemed like Emma just wanted to have a friendly conversation with her, and while they were doing that, Dave headed upstairs to get changed.

He was in his room at the moment, slowly pulling off his shirt.

<So, what do you think of her?>

'Where's that question coming from?'

<Just answer>

Getting that response, the goalkeeper let out a sigh before sitting down on the bed to pull off his pants.

'I can't know what I think of her until I've actually spoken to her, so you'll have to wait a bit longer to get an answer from me.'

<I guess that's fair>

He slid into a pair of black shorts and a white shirt afterward before making his way out of the room, heading for the staircase.

'Hey, Cat.' He called just as he got to the staircase.

<What is it?>

'What type of snack would you like?'

There was no immediate response from Catherine as his mind went completely silent.

'Hey, are you still there?'

What he heard next was the sound of a tongue clicking.

<Very funny, Dave, I see you've learned how to make fun of me>

'Well, you're always doing it to me.' He responded as he began making his way down the staircase.

<Yeah, because you deserve it, dummy goalkeeper>

'Wow, I did not expect asking you if you wanted a snack would get on your nerves this much.'

The only response from her was a scoff before she went silent.

'Good, I prefer you silent anyway.' He shrugged.

He had gone halfway down the stairs when he caught the voices of Emma and Shinobu coming from the living, and hearing what they were talking about, he suddenly paused.

"So, Shinobu, you're not from Bilbeth, right?" Emma asked before taking a sip from the cup of coffee in her hand.

"Are you saying that because of my name?" Shinobu responded.

"Yeah, it's Japanese, right?"

The response from Shinobu was a nod.

"Yes, I'm technically not from here but as far as I know, I've been in this country for most of my life." She suddenly paused to put down the cup of tea she was holding on the saucer on the table. "My mom divorced my biological father when I was just two years old and moved here where he got married to my step-father."

"Oh, I see. I guess that's why your last name is Anderson."

"Yes." She nodded.

There was a few seconds of silence between the two as Emma took another sip from her cup.

"You're going to be spending most of your time here if you get this job, right?" She asked, after putting the cup down.

"Yes, that's what the job entails." Shinobu nodded.

"So, you're going to be living here, then?"

"No, there's no need for that, I can…."

"Why not?" Emma interjected. "We have plenty of rooms and things will be easier for you that way."

That response wasn't something Shinobu was expecting to hear as she was staring at Emma now with a baffled expression on her face.

"Are you really okay with that?"

"If you're fine with it then, yeah." She responded.

<She has too much faith in you and it's just sad>

'Found your voice, huh.'

<It wasn't lost to begin with>

Dave shook his head at that response before he continued making his way downstairs.

Emma was only able to notice his steps just as he was about to step down from the last step and with a smile on her face, she turned to him.

"Hey, babe."

"Hey." He responded with a subtle smile. "Don't mind me, I'm just going to grab something in the kitchen." He added before disappearing into the kitchen.

He made his way to the fridge afterward and pulled it open, reaching for the carton of milk in there.

<I wonder>

'Wonder what?'

<What would have happened if she had dated someone other than you first>

'Are we talking about Emma?'

<Who else would I be talking about?> She snapped.

A chuckle escaped from Dave's lips as he made his way to the shelf to grab a glass.

'I was just messing with you?' He said inwardly. 'So, what were you trying to say.'

She wasn't too quick to respond to that and proceeded to let out a sigh first.

<If she had met someone else first or rather if you two had never met, she would probably not be married now with all the heartbreak she'll have to endure. It's just an assumption but…>

She wasn't able to finish what she wanted to say as the carton of milk suddenly slipped off his hand, crashing to the floor. Fortunately, it was still sealed, so there was no spill.

<What is wrong with you now?>

'Catherine.' Dave called, a stunned look on his face.

<Yes>

'Was that a compliment off the pitch?'

<No, I was just stating something>

'Ha, you're just too proud to admit.'

<You know what, I take back everything I just said>

'Doesn't matter, the words have already been embedded into my memory.'

'I'll rip that memory out of your head.'

Dave suddenly went silent as the smile on his face slowly disappeared.

'Hey, you can't actually do that, right?'

<A little test is all it takes to find out>

Her voice was quite threatening, burning every desire Dave had to continue the conversation and with that desire gone, he picked up the carton of milk and went on to silently pour himself a glass of milk.

<So gullible>

______ ______

A couple of hours passed and a new day was finally here, the day Unique FC was going to be taking on Lospeno City away from home.

It was fair to say that was one of the easier games for Norman's side so far in the season as they ended up thrashing their opponents four goals to nothing without facing that much throughout the game as Lospeno only had four shots with just one on target, an easy save for Dave.

That was a nicely wrapped-up game by the Uniques to keep their place on top and with that done, it was time to start getting ready for Real Sociedad.

<That definitely won't be as easy as this>