# 12 - The Reason Behind Aoyama-kun's Choice
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GYNQZQ3XY/clean-freak-aoyama-kun)
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
**[00:02] zai**
Hey, those men are back again.
**[00:06] tsu**
Well, if you think about it,
Aoyama is a national age-group player.
**[00:10] sak**
It's not surprising they'd
show up to scout him.
**[00:13] yos**
That means there's no guarantee
he'll be with us to the end.
**[00:17] zai**
*Aoyama might leave...*
**[00:29] sak**
Zaizen. Hey, Zaizen.
**[00:32] tsu**
Our days of dreaming about reaching
Nationals might be numbered.
**[00:37] yos**
He only came here because
he liked the toilets.
**[00:41] tsu**
If he's going to a pro youth club,
he'll have no reason to remain with us.
***SIGN*** #12
***SIGN*** The Reason Behind Aoyama-kun's Choice
**[00:54] zai**
Hey, Aoyama!
**[00:57] zai**
We need to talk.
**[01:00] zai**
Are you going to join a youth club?
**[01:07] zai**
Those scouts were here again.
**[01:10] zai**
I don't want to be blunt,
but everybody's relying on you.
**[01:14] zai**
You're our team's—
**[01:16] kid**
Look! It's Aoyama-san,
the youth national player!
**[01:19] kid2**
Seriously?
**[01:20] kid2**
It's true! Oh, my god!
**[01:22] kid**
I always keep an eye out for your matches!
**[01:24] kid**
Can we get your autograph?
**[01:27] zai**
*You're our team's...*
**[01:31] zai**
*...biggest hope.*
**[01:36] kid**
Wow, even his autograph is amazing!
**[01:40] kid**
I'm going to treasure this forever!
**[01:42] zai**
*Just kidding.*
**[01:44] kid**
We actually got one!
**[01:44] zai**
Aoyama!
**[01:45] kid**
Yeah!
**[01:46] kid**
So lucky!
**[01:48] zai**
You should play where
you can shine the most.
**[01:53] zai**
But...
**[01:55] zai**
Let's do our best tomorrow.
**[02:15] (Flashback) zai**
Mother!
**[02:17] (Flashback) mom**
What is it?
**[02:20] (Flashback) zai**
Please come to my next soccer match.
**[02:24] (Flashback) zai**
I'm going to score a goal
for you as a present!
**[02:33] dad**
Let's get going.
**[02:35] zai**
Yes, Daddy.
**[02:38] dad**
You have your match now, don't you?
**[02:40] zai**
Yes.
**[02:47] zai**
* Mother, I promise that*
* we will win today's match!*
***SIGN*** Inter-High
Tokyo City
First Preliminaries
**[02:56] tsu**
"You eleven knights who are
gathered on this holy ground..."
***SIGN*** Thanks to its
ongoing popularity,
Season 2 of the
anime is greenlit!
**[02:59] tsu**
"I am going to join the battle as well!"
**[03:01] tsu**
"Let's save the world together!"
**[03:03] tsu**
For some reason, I feel like this
week's chapter is cheering us on!
**[03:08] tsu**
I can feel the power!
**[03:19] mok**
Is Aoyama-kun really going to quit our team?
**[03:25] zai**
No clue! I have no idea what he's thinking.
**[03:30] zai**
Just like her...
**[03:34] mok**
Huh?
**[03:35] zai**
Oh, nothing.
**[03:40] sak**
She's pretty.
**[03:41] tad**
Is that your mom?
**[03:43] zai**
What the hell, you guys?
What is it to you?!
**[03:46] tsu**
Don't be so shy and introduce us.
**[03:49] tad**
Are you into older women?
**[03:50] zai**
That's my mother!
**[03:52] zai**
Besides, my mother's long...
**[03:57] sak**
Zaizen?
**[04:01] miw**
Listen up! Time for the pre-match meeting!
**[04:05] miw**
Let's review what we know
about today's opponent.
**[04:08] tsu**
What do you make of Zaizen's reaction?
**[04:10] yos**
He had a pretty serious look on his face.
**[04:12] sak**
Actually, I happened to see something
when I was walking my dog this morning.
**[04:18] sak**
Zaizen was paying his respects
at a grave with his father.
**[04:23] tad**
Wait, does that mean today's
the day Zaizen's mom...
**[04:26] tsu**
...passed away?
**[04:27] yos**
Really?
**[04:29] miw**
Hey, guys!
**[04:30] miw**
Be quiet! Anyway, moving on.
**[04:33] miw**
Our opponent, Kuraishi High School,
has two powerful center backs.
**[04:39] miw**
They're a team whose rise is
built on an ironclad defense.
**[04:42] miw**
In order to breach their defense,
**[04:46] miw**
we need you to shine
as brightly as you can, Kaocchi.
**[04:55] miw**
Kaocchi?
**[04:57] zai**
Y-Yes!
**[04:58] miw**
Pull it together, everyone.
Let's go win another match!
**[05:02] all**
Yes, ma'am!
**[05:16] sak**
Captain!
**[05:17] ish**
Yeah!
**[05:21] sak**
Where's Zaizen?
**[05:22] tsu**
He went to the bathroom.
**[05:23] sak**
Good, because...
**[05:25] mor**
Today's the anniversary...
**[05:26] ish**
...of Zaizen's mom's death?
**[05:28] ish**
Why didn't he say something?
**[05:29] sat**
Yeah, how come?
**[05:30] ish**
There's only one thing we can do.
**[05:33] ish**
Provide support for Zaizen!
**[05:35] sak**
We'll send everything his way...
**[05:36] tsu**
...and help him score...
**[05:37] yos**
...to cheer him up!
**[05:39] ish**
Our team will win.
**[05:40] tad**
And we'll advance from the preliminaries!
**[05:41] ume**
Sounds good. I bet his mother
would like that, too.
**[05:49] zai**
Sorry for making you all wait.
**[05:53] all**
All right!
**[05:55] ish**
*That's my cue as captain!*
**[05:58] ish**
Fujimi—
**[05:58] ume**
Victory at any cost!
**[06:01] ume**
Fujimi High!
**[06:03] all**
Fight!
**[06:06] tad**
All right, I'm pumped!
**[06:08] tsu**
I can taste victory already.
**[06:12] ish**
Huh? I haven't said anything yet...
**[06:19] tad**
There's the cross!
**[06:21] sak**
It looks good!
**[06:29] ito**
With your build, I bet you're
pretty confident in the air.
**[06:34] ito**
But quite frankly, you've got
no chance when you're facing us.
**[06:38] zai**
*Bastard.*
**[06:41] tach**
No wonder those center backs are called
the "Double Wall of Kuraishi High."
**[06:46] koz**
They're both physically strong,
and they cover a wide range on the pitch.
**[06:50] ibu**
Hm...
**[06:51] tak**
Well, I could easily obliterate them.
**[06:57] tad**
Aoyama!
**[06:59] ric**
Their defense is quick to hound him!
**[07:00] koz**
Their anti-Aoyama strategy's good, too!
**[07:03] ric**
They have a good defense.
**[07:07] ric**
He was pushed out of it again!
**[07:11] koz**
A long ball!
**[07:13] ish**
Oh no!
**[07:16] zai**
Dammit!
**[07:20] no9**
Gotcha!
**[07:24] ric**
They executed that counter perfectly!
**[07:26] tak**
So Kuraishi High School has taken the lead.
**[07:30] ito**
This match is as good as ours.
**[07:32] tak**
Kuraishi High School has won every
match so far without conceding.
**[07:37] tak**
Even scoring one goal won't be easy.
***SIGN*** Fujimi
***SIGN*** Kuraishi
**[07:41] ito**
It's good that we took the lead
in the first half, but...
**[07:44] hor**
I would have liked to get
another one or two goals.
**[07:47] ito**
We need to be extra careful
of Aoyama in the second half.
**[08:01] kid**
Ow!
**[08:03] mom**
Kazu-kun!
**[08:05] mom**
You scraped your leg.
We need to rinse it off.
**[08:10] zai**
*She was always into something.*
**[08:14] zai**
* Once she caught the bug for it,*
* she was blind to everything else.*
**[08:18] zai**
* Because of that, it was always Jeeves*
* who took me to and from kindergarten.*
**[08:22] zai**
*But I was glad to just have her around.*
**[08:26] (Flashback) zai**
Mother! I got into the starting eleven
for the next match!
**[08:37] (Flashback) zai**
Jeeves, where's Mother?
**[08:41] (Flashback) jee**
Young Master Kaoru...
**[08:44] (Flashback) jee**
Your mother has gone to a faraway place.
**[08:55] zai**
Once this match is over, Aoyama will also...
**[08:58] zai**
Dammit!
**[09:00] zai**
We *will* win today's match!
**[09:03] zai**
That will be my parting gift
to her and Aoyama!
**[09:08] mac**
*Congratulations! You're a winner!*
**[09:12] zai**
What the hell's going on?
**[09:15] zai**
This is too much! You're broken, yo!
***SIGN*** Zaizen Shiori
***SIGN*** I'm Kaoru's mother
***SIGN*** Shoot for victory at Nationals!
***SIGN*** Fujimi High School Eleven
**[09:28] zai**
*Dwelling on it won't help!*
**[09:30] ish**
Zaizen!
**[09:30] zai**
*Right now, I need to focus on the game!*
**[09:40] miw**
Jeez, what are you doing?
**[09:43] sak**
Zaizen, back pass!
**[09:45] zai**
Crap!
**[09:47] miw**
* I'm counting on your aerial prowess*
* to get past that defensive wall!*
**[09:53] ref**
Corner to Kuraishi High School!
**[09:58] all**
Kuraishi scores!
**[10:03] zai**
Crap!
**[10:04] mok**
That's Kuraishi High School's second goal.
**[10:14] mok**
I can't believe Aoyama-kun's
pushing forward this early in the game.
**[10:18] miw**
He must be feeling the heat, too.
**[10:21] ish**
Their closing down is almost instant!
**[10:23] zai**
Aoyama, pass it to me! That's too risky!
**[10:28] tad**
I guess he took one touch too many.
**[10:32] zai**
Even for you, that was reckless!
**[10:37] zai**
What?
**[10:40] aoy**
It would have been pointless to
pass to you in your current state.
**[10:44] zai**
What?
**[10:45] ish**
The ball!
**[10:47] (Flashback) kid**
Zaizen, the ball!
**[10:57] (Flashback) zai**
I missed?
**[11:01] (Flashback) zai**
*Why aren't you here...*
**[11:03] (Flashback) zai**
*...Mother?*
**[11:05] ish**
Zaizen!
**[11:09] zai**
Crap!
**[11:13] ish**
We've been caught upfield. Fall back!
**[11:17] zai**
*Damn, what's wrong with me?!*
**[11:20] kur**
Go for the counter!
**[11:22] ito**
*All right, good!*
**[11:25] ito**
* The most dangerous thing*
* about their team is*
**[11:27] ito**
* Aoyama's explosive offense*
* in the last five minutes.*
**[11:31] ito**
* The key is how far ahead*
* we are by that point.*
**[11:35] ito**
*We can't relax with a mere two-goal lead!*
**[11:41] ito**
*A three-goal lead will do it, though!*
**[11:44] zai**
Not on my watch!
**[11:46] itou**
*This is checkmate!*
**[11:49] zai**
Oh no!
**[11:51] ito**
*Got it!*
**[12:12] ric**
Aoyama put his body on the line to stop it!
**[12:16] tak**
Hmph, Fujimi High School barely survived.
**[12:20] sak**
That was amazing, Aoyama!
**[12:21] tsu**
You saved us!
**[12:25] zai**
Hey! Are you okay?!
**[12:27] aoy**
Stay away.
**[12:29] sak**
Hey, those stains...
**[12:33] tsu**
You can't play like that.
**[12:36] zai**
*It's my fault.*
**[12:39] zai**
*It's because I screwed up.*
**[12:40] aoy**
Zaizen-san.
**[12:43] aoy**
If you don't want to win,
please get yourself substituted.
**[12:49] (Flashback) zai**
Let's do our best tomorrow.
**[12:55] zai**
*Are you kidding me, Aoyama?*
**[13:03] zai**
I am...
**[13:08] zai**
...not leaving this game!
**[13:16] tad**
How stupid do you have to be
to headbutt the goalpost?!
**[13:20] zai**
Let go of me!
**[13:21] ish**
All right, just calm down!
**[13:26] hor**
Is his head okay? In all senses of the word.
**[13:29] ito**
Forget about the idiotic headbutter.
**[13:31] ito**
What's huge is that Aoyama being
dirty has rendered him sluggish.
**[13:36] ito**
We have this match in the bag.
**[13:39] mok**
*Aoyama-kun, if you're that dirty...*
**[13:43] zai**
Listen up!
**[13:47] zai**
Fujimi High School is
not just Aoyama's team.
**[13:54] zai**
*Damn that Aoyama.*
**[13:56] (Flashback) aoy**
If you don't want to win,
please get yourself substituted.
**[14:02] zai**
*I don't want to win?*
**[14:05] zai**
*Of course I want...*
**[14:09] zai**
*...to win!*
**[14:14] ito**
*This guy!*
**[14:16] hor**
Too bad.
**[14:18] mok**
They took it!
**[14:20] ito**
Now that Aoyama's sluggish,
this is our chance!
**[14:23] ish**
A counterattack's coming!
**[14:26] hor**
This is the end!
**[14:39] zai**
How do you like that?!
**[14:43] guy**
He stopped their counter with his face!
**[14:45] guy2**
He's got guts!
**[14:48] miw**
Looks like you got over whatever
was bothering you, Kaocchi!
**[14:51] zai**
Ow.
**[14:54] aoy**
Your soccer is so dirty.
**[14:59] zai**
You moron.
**[15:02] zai**
This sort of stuff is my job.
**[15:07] zai**
Let's win this match.
**[15:09] aoy**
Of course.
**[15:20] ric**
They keep passing the ball around
to chip away at Fujimi's stamina.
**[15:24] tak**
This is the extent of this team's abilities
when their ace, Aoyama, isn't performing.
**[15:31] koz**
There're less than ten minutes left.
They intend to let the clock run down.
**[15:36] ric**
At this rate, Fujimi will lose.
**[15:39] zai**
*Damn it all!*
**[15:42] zai**
*We need to score right now!*
**[15:45] zai**
* So I won't let them tell me*
* they're at their limit!*
**[15:49] zai**
*My legs are like this,*
**[15:51] zai**
* and my head's fuzzy from being oxygen*
* deprived because I've run around too much.*
**[15:55] guy**
Itou-san!
**[15:59] zai**
*But you know what?*
**[16:01] zai**
*Compared to when I was moping around,*
**[16:04] zai**
*this is a lot better!*
**[16:06] ito**
Son of a...
**[16:07] sak**
Nice, Zaizen!
**[16:09] ish**
Time for us to counter!
**[16:11] itou**
Stop their number 5!
**[16:14] guy**
Die!
**[16:17] tad**
I won't let you stop me so easily!
**[16:22] tad**
Captain!
**[16:24] ish**
Too far!
**[16:25] yos**
He can't make that!
**[16:28] tsu**
That idiot!
**[16:30] sak**
That was our only chance!
**[16:35] zai**
Aoyama!
**[16:35] ito**
I thought he couldn't move!
**[16:38] miw**
It's the last five minutes!
**[16:46] hor**
I'm still on you!
**[16:56] hor**
*Where are you aiming?*
**[16:57] hor**
*There's nobody over there!*
**[17:00] miw**
Kaocchi!
**[17:05] zai**
*This ball...*
**[17:07] zai**
*I will make it count!*
**[17:13] zai**
*My leg!*
**[17:20] zai**
*After we've come so far?!*
**[17:22] aoy**
Zaizen-san.
**[17:26] all**
Zaizen!
**[17:27] ume**
Zaizen-san.
**[17:28] all**
Zaizen!
**[17:29] all**
Zaizen!
**[17:34] zai**
*Mother!*
**[17:40] mom**
You can do it, Kaoru!
***SIGN*** Fujimi
***SIGN*** Kuraishi
**[18:07] tac**
Fujimi High won again, huh?
**[18:16] ibu**
Par for the course, no?
**[18:18] ric**
I just remembered our
first training match.
**[18:23] mom**
Show me your leg already!
**[18:25] zai**
It's fine. I just pulled a muscle.
**[18:28] zai**
Anyway, why'd you bother showing up now?
**[18:32] ish**
Haven't we seen that person before?
**[18:35] tad**
Wasn't she in the picture Zaizen had?
**[18:42] tsu**
Zaizen's mom?!
**[18:45] mom**
Yes?
**[18:46] yos**
She's fit as a fiddle!
**[18:48] sak**
Then why'd you visit the graveyard
this morning? Talk about misleading!
**[18:52] zai**
That was to honor our ancestors.
**[18:54] zai**
Dadd—I mean, Father only
had time to go this morning.
**[18:58] tsu**
Give us back the energy we wasted on
being worried about you! You idiot!
**[19:02] zai**
What are you even talking about?!
**[19:04] mom**
I'm relieved to see you having fun.
**[19:08] zai**
After all this time? I don't care if you
were volunteering or whatever!
**[19:12] zai**
Where have you been this whole time?
**[19:16] mom**
At first, I meant to come back straight away.
**[19:22] mom**
But before I knew it, it had been five years.
**[19:25] zai**
You're always like this!
**[19:28] mom**
I came to see you score a goal today.
**[19:35] mom**
I was really watching.
**[19:39] (Flashback) zai**
I'm going to score a goal
for you as a present!
**[19:53] mom**
A present five years in the making.
**[19:57] zai**
*You remembered.*
**[20:02] zai**
You're so late, Mother.
**[20:12] jee**
Madam, I've come to pick you up!
**[20:24] mom**
Okay, I'm off to Brazil now.
**[20:31] mom**
Bye!
**[20:32] zai**
Mother!
**[20:37] zai**
Mother...
**[20:55] zai**
Aoyama.
**[20:59] zai**
What are you going to do about the team?
**[21:01] zai**
You're joining a youth club, right?
**[21:05] aoy**
I'm not, though.
**[21:06] zai**
Really?!
**[21:11] (Flashback) man**
It seems you don't understand
your own position here.
**[21:17] (Flashback) man**
You're already carrying the future
of Japanese soccer on your shoulders.
**[21:22] (Flashback) man**
Why is a player who's going to be
the jewel in Japan's crown
**[21:25] (Flashback) man**
not playing for a renowned school
or a youth club,
**[21:31] (Flashback) man**
instead of here at Fujimi High School?
**[21:38] aoy**
I...
**[21:41] aoy**
...like white uniforms.
**[21:45] mok**
The white of cleanliness!
**[21:48] team**
Clean! Clean! A-o-ya-ma!
**[21:52] mok**
Aoyama-kun likes white.
**[21:55] team**
He li-kes wh-i-te!
**[22:02] all**
Are you kidding us?!
**[23:18] zai**
Picking a team based on the uniform
**[23:21] zai**
is so idiotic that I'm mad at
myself for being worried.
**[23:27] zai**
You damn germaphobic, whimsical fool.