[Josuke takes a moment to mull this over, and Kidou follows suit, sinking back into his own thoughts.
Deep down, he wants that to be the answer. He wants to be able to take control of at least some small corner of his life and turn it into something better. He wants to be able to ... well... he just wants friends to play soccer with without having to worry about whether or not he's using too much force. He wants people capable of countering shoots made from midair reliably. It feels like years ago now, remembering him and Gran watching a match together, both letting the difference sink in between their world and this one.
The professional soccer of this world was beneath the level that Kidou was used to playing at. He'd started to genuinely worry that he'd lose his skill at the game by lack of use. Even with a mild sprain at one point, he could still keep up with his team. He was glad to play soccer. He's even found he can be proud of his team's growth. But he knows, deep down, that there's a limit cap on their potential. There's only so much growth possible.
It will always be below where he is right now.
ImPorts were the only answer if he ever wanted to experience something like the soccer he knew again. He'd been happy to play with Gran or Genda, but that wasn't a team against another team. More than anything, he wanted to be able to have at least that much. But even for his effort earlier in finding who might be interested, and Endou taking up a mission to get people to come play, it felt like that wasn't an attainable goal. It didn't match anyone's priorities. No matter what, nothing ever happened. He was good enough with pattern recognition to know what a lost cause was.
Josuke finishes playing with his milkshake, putting words to his thoughts.
Kidou doesn't answer him verbally, but the look on his face says volumes. His mouth parts slightly, eyebrows raising back up. The way he put that, Kidou couldn't argue. Josuke had expertly phrased it from a point of view that exactly aligned with Kidou's. Kidou hadn't thought about this problem that way, but even his defeatist pessimism couldn't deny the logic behind those words.]
no subject
Deep down, he wants that to be the answer. He wants to be able to take control of at least some small corner of his life and turn it into something better. He wants to be able to ... well... he just wants friends to play soccer with without having to worry about whether or not he's using too much force. He wants people capable of countering shoots made from midair reliably. It feels like years ago now, remembering him and Gran watching a match together, both letting the difference sink in between their world and this one.
The professional soccer of this world was beneath the level that Kidou was used to playing at. He'd started to genuinely worry that he'd lose his skill at the game by lack of use. Even with a mild sprain at one point, he could still keep up with his team. He was glad to play soccer. He's even found he can be proud of his team's growth. But he knows, deep down, that there's a limit cap on their potential. There's only so much growth possible.
It will always be below where he is right now.
ImPorts were the only answer if he ever wanted to experience something like the soccer he knew again. He'd been happy to play with Gran or Genda, but that wasn't a team against another team. More than anything, he wanted to be able to have at least that much. But even for his effort earlier in finding who might be interested, and Endou taking up a mission to get people to come play, it felt like that wasn't an attainable goal. It didn't match anyone's priorities. No matter what, nothing ever happened. He was good enough with pattern recognition to know what a lost cause was.
Josuke finishes playing with his milkshake, putting words to his thoughts.
Kidou doesn't answer him verbally, but the look on his face says volumes. His mouth parts slightly, eyebrows raising back up. The way he put that, Kidou couldn't argue. Josuke had expertly phrased it from a point of view that exactly aligned with Kidou's. Kidou hadn't thought about this problem that way, but even his defeatist pessimism couldn't deny the logic behind those words.]