Chapter 79: The Unseen Game.
The evening was calm, the air thick with anticipation. Beneath the dim glow of the sun, the scent of freshly cut grass from somewhere mingled with the earthy smell of dirt. Tarazune Akeshi stood near the edge of the field, his breath barely visible in the cooling evening air. His long red hair was tied back, revealing his sharp eyes that scanned the surroundings, searching for a particular figure.
"You sure are late," Akeshi called out, his voice cutting through the quiet like a knife through butter.
A shadowy figure emerged from the darkness, stepping into the light. Chabashira Haruto, a junior who had been reluctantly dragged into this game, waved nonchalantly. His casual demeanor was betrayed by the sweat beading on his forehead, indicating that he had run here in haste. He wasn't exactly out of shape, but he wasn't thrilled about being here either.
"Hey! I was called suddenly! Do you really think I can make it here in a second?" Haruto's voice carried a hint of irritation, but it was softened by the undercurrent of exhaustion. His dark hair clung to his forehead, and his breaths came out in short, quick puffs.
Akeshi folded his arms, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. "Your house is only a few minutes away from here, Haruto! And I did sent you the location. So why take so much time?"
There was a pause as Haruto glanced away, clearly uncomfortable with the line of questioning. "I'll… talk about it later," he muttered, his voice dropping.
Akeshi's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed his junior. 'From the looks of it, I don't think later is an option here,' he mused. But Akeshi knew better than to push too hard right now; there was a game to play, and whatever was bothering Haruto could wait.
"Alright then, I'll introduce you to the guys," Akeshi said, gesturing toward a group of guys gathered near the center of the field. "Yorita Mikage, Watanabe Rentaro, Hashimoto Myushi, Miyake Okabe, Amanai Keitaro. Those are the names. You really don't have to remember them, and you know that guy over there, Hirokima Kagami."
Haruto's eyes widened slightly as he took in the sight of Hirokima Kagami, a national-level player whose reputation preceded him. He could feel a knot forming in his stomach. "You want me, a 'I don't want to work' type of guy, to play against a national-level player? And also the fact that I don't know shit about football?"
Akeshi's lips curled into a mischievous grin. "Yup."
"The fuck is up with you?" Haruto retorted, exasperated. His tone was a mix of disbelief and resignation. He knew he was in over his head, but Akeshi had a way of roping him into situations that were far beyond his comfort zone.
"Well, you're the only guy whose number I had," Akeshi replied with a shrug. "And all you gotta do is play as a 'meat shield.' Got that?"
Haruto sighed deeply, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah…"
"Oh right, I haven't introduced you to everyone, have I? Yuuki only knows you by name," Akeshi added, his tone lightening.
"I'm not a celebrity…" Haruto mumbled, though there was a faint smile on his lips.
Akeshi turned to the group, raising his voice slightly to get their attention. "Alright guys, this is Chabashira Haruto. A junior."
The group of players nodded in acknowledgment, a few offering polite greetings. Haruto bowed his head slightly, greeting them in return. It was clear that the group was tight-knit, but they seemed welcoming enough.
"Let's begin!" Akeshi declared, his voice ringing out with an infectious enthusiasm that seemed to stir something in everyone present.
The game commenced with a quiet intensity. The players spread out across the field, their movements swift and coordinated, a testament to their familiarity with one another. The sound of shoes scuffing the ground, the ball being kicked, and the occasional grunt of effort filled the air, creating a rhythmic pulse that matched the growing tension.
"Boo!" A voice suddenly called out from the left, followed by the rapid dribbling of a ball cutting through the defenses. It was Kagami, his body swaying from side to side as he expertly navigated through the gaps in the opposing team's formation. His movements were fluid, almost serpentine, as if he were dancing rather than playing football.
Akeshi and chen, who had been manning the defense, were caught off guard by Kagami's sudden advance. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't stop him from slicing through their line.
Kagami's reputation as the 'Dribble of a Living Dead' was well-earned. His ability to change directions with unnatural speed, combined with his sharp reflexes, made him a nightmare to defend against. Even as he groaned and growled like a reanimated corpse, his body seemed to defy the laws of physics.
'This guy is something else…' Ming thought, his brow furrowing in concentration as he realized Akeshi needed backup. But this was exactly what Kagami had wanted—to lure them in, only to exploit the gaps they left behind.
Kagami's body moved in ways that defied conventional athleticism. His upper body leaned forward, while his lower body swerved backward, creating an impossible center of gravity that baffled both Akeshi and chen. The ball slipped through the tiniest of gaps, and Kagami effortlessly passed them by, leaving them both in his wake.
Ren and Yuuki were up next, standing in Kagami's path as he continued his solo attack. The midfielders of Chidori, including Rentaro, who was acting as the striker, were caught off guard by Kagami's relentless advance. To kagami, Ren and Yuuki were nothing more than insignificant obstacles—mere "bugs" in his path.
Akeshi and chen exchanged a quick glance, their unspoken understanding conveying their next move. They charged forward, determined to stop Kagami before he could reach the goal.
But Kagami was already two steps ahead. His peripheral vision was nothing short of transcendent, allowing him to see the entire field as if it were a chessboard and the players mere pieces in his grand strategy. With a slick elastico followed by a rabona, Kagami cleaved through Ren's legs, leaving the younger player stunned.
"You should close those legs of yours," Kagami taunted, his voice dripping with condescension. "Someone might take advantage of you."
Ren's face remained same, his composure unbreakable. "Don't tell me what to do and not do," he shot back, his voice steady.
"How about me next?" Yuuki interjected, stepping in to try and steal the ball from Kagami.
Kagami barely spared him a glance. "No thanks, you aren't my type," he replied dismissively, his focus never wavering from his goal.
Rentaro, who had been following Kagami's lead, controlled a pass with impressive skill and marched down the field with a newfound determination. The precision and speed of his movements caught Kagami's attention, and for a brief moment, a smirk crossed his lips.
'So they weren't talentless after all,' Kagami mused, his eyes narrowing as he considered the potential of these young players. 'Maybe I should talk with the captain and see if we can get these guys in. With a good amount of training, they wouldn't have any sort of problem at all…'
The ball was lobbed over to Keitaro, who immediately began a series of tic-tac passes with Rentaro and Okabe. Their coordination was almost robotic, each pass calculated to perfection, each movement executed with mechanical precision.
'Look away once, and the ball isn't there,' Ren thought, impressed by the seamless interplay. 'This is ridiculous. Chidori…this school needs to be recognized for these players…'
Keitaro's backheel pass was almost intercepted by Haruto, who had been playing a cautious game thus far. His ability to pick up the tempo and adjust to the rhythm of the match was nothing short of remarkable for someone who claimed not to know much about football.
"Is this really the first time you're playing?" Kagami asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
Haruto scoffed, brushing off the statement , he wasn't sure if this was compliment or insult. "Yeah. Just 'cause I owe him a favor is the reason why I'm here in the first place."
Kagami raised an eyebrow, impressed despite himself.
'Speed, dribbling, passing, defense…what can this guy not do? He's literally playing defense…' Haruto thought as he got up from the ground and sprinted towards a position he deemed strategic.
"Huh?!" kagami eyes widens as he looks at the scene in front of him.
'You don't have to do that. You're probably doing it out of spite…' Ren observed, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips. The tension on the field was palpable, yet there was an underlying camaraderie that softened the edges.
'Showoff…' Chen scoffed internally, though he couldn't help but admire the scene before him.
Taking inspiration from Kagami's earlier maneuvers, Akeshi contorted his body in an almost impossible way, utilizing his flexibility to its fullest. The pass he had just sent was five feet above the ground—a risky move—but this was his field of play. He thrived in the unpredictable, the unorthodox.
Keitaro's mouth fell open as he watched Akeshi clear the very space with a 180-degree jump, his body twisting mid-air with a grace that seemed almost unreal. The ball, seemingly defying gravity, hung in the air for a fraction of a second longer than it should have, as if acknowledging Akeshi's mastery over it. Not once did Akeshi's eyes stray from the space in front of him; the ball was within his prediction, one of the many possibilities he had already calculated in his mind. It was as if the game played out before him in slow motion, each move, each pass, predetermined in the labyrinth of his thoughts.
The ball clipped the edge of Akeshi's head, altering its trajectory just enough to prevent it from falling out of bounds. It landed right at his feet, and with a swift pivot, he redirected it back into play. Keitaro was still trying to process what he had just witnessed, his mouth agape as he tried to comprehend the sheer audacity of Akeshi's move. It wasn't just skill; it was a calculated gamble, a testament to Akeshi's ability to think several steps ahead of everyone else on the field.
"It was easy to deduce that you guys don't have someone who is actually used to the role of striker," Akeshi remarked, his voice calm, almost casual, as if he hadn't just pulled off a move that left everyone stunned. He pointed at Mikage, who let out a sigh of resignation, already knowing where this was going. "You made him a striker because he was the fastest, even though he makes it seem like he gives absolutely zero fucks about anything else. And all of you are anything but strikers."
"Not wrong though," Mikage admitted, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at Rentaro, who was already making his way over to the ball, preparing to throw it in. There was an unspoken tension between them, a mutual understanding that they had underestimated their opponents. Akeshi wasn't just a player; he was a strategist, and every move he made was a calculated risk designed to exploit their weaknesses.
As the ball was thrown back into play, Haruto found himself at the center of attention. "Good job, Haruto. That's the spirit. Keep on doing what you were doing," Akeshi praised him, his voice carrying an authority that made it clear he was in control of the game. Haruto nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. For someone who claimed to be a "i don't want to work," he was holding his own surprisingly well. But there was something in his eyes, a flicker of determination that hadn't been there before, as if Akeshi's words had ignited a spark within him.
While the rest of the team scrambled to adjust to the rapidly changing dynamics of the game, Namakemono stood at the back, his eyes fixed on the setup unfolding before him. He was left standing, doing absolutely nothing, his role as goalkeeper feeling increasingly irrelevant as the action played out on the other side of the field. He always wondered what goalkeepers felt during moments like these, when their efforts were ignored, overshadowed by the flashier, more aggressive players on the field. But instead of feeling frustrated, Yukimiya found himself strangely at peace.
'I am too lazy to think about it...' The thought drifted through his mind, and with a sigh, he sat down on the ground, his legs crossed as he watched the scene in front of him. There was a certain tranquility in his posture, an acceptance of his role in the game, even if it meant being a silent observer. He knew that all of them were constantly evolving, adapting to the challenges thrown at them, and he was content to watch it unfold, knowing that his moment would come.
On the other side of the field, Chen had the ball at his feet, charging forward with a singular focus. "Hey! Pass the ball here!" Ren shouted to him, his voice cutting through the noise of the game. But for Chen, Ren's existence was erased. Every single person around him had their existence erased. He didn't see anything or anyone around him, didn't hear anything or anyone. There was only one goal in his mind—to score, to end this drawn-out battle that had been going on for far too long.
Keitaro rushed toward him, trying to stop his advance, but Ming was already several steps ahead. He had anticipated every move, every possibility, and with a quick tap of the ball, he slipped it between Keitaro's legs. The speed and precision of the nutmeg were shocking, even to Keitaro, who took a moment to process what had just happened. But by the time he turned back to react, Ming was already gone, his eyes locked on the goal ahead.
"It seems I was able to slip right in-between your legs, huh?" Chen's voice was almost teasing, his shoulders brushing against Keitaro's as he charged forward. There was an undeniable confidence in his stride, a certainty that he was in complete control of the situation.
"You really know how to find open spaces, huh?" Keitaro responded, his voice strained as he tried to keep up with Ming.
"Well, maybe I'm just good at getting between things?" Ming shot back, his tone light, almost playful.
Keitaro couldn't help but laugh, despite the tension of the game. "Careful now, with that skill of yours, you might steal more than a ball next time."
'...What the fuck…?' Mikage, who had been following their exchange, was left speechless, his mind reeling from the innuendo that had just slipped into the conversation. It was unexpected, jarring even, but somehow it added a layer of humanity to the intense game they were playing. It was a reminder that beneath the competition, they were all just kids, grappling with their own insecurities and trying to find their place in the world.
Chen increased his speed, leaving Keitaro in the dust as he closed in on the goal. His eyes darted from left to right, calculating every possible outcome, every potential obstacle in his path. He was at the left corner of the field, and with a swift kick, he sent the ball curving toward the goal. The precision of the shot surprised everyone; it was a calculated strike, aimed perfectly to slip past the defenders and into the net.
"Gotcha!" Mikage, who had been watching the play unfold, jumped up and used the goalpost as leverage, his body stretching to its limits as he grabbed the ball with both hands. It was an impressive save, and for a moment, the field fell silent, everyone processing the gravity of what had just happened.
"Run, everyone! Counterattack!!" Mikage's voice boomed across the field as he prepared to throw the ball, the veins in his hands pulsing with adrenaline. The players sprang into action, sprinting toward the upper field with renewed vigor. Even Namakemono, who had been sitting on the ground moments before, stood up, his eyes glowing with excitement. This was the moment they had been waiting for.
"Huff!" Mikage heaved the ball with everything he had, sending it soaring through the air. It landed perfectly at Kagami's feet, and a smirk spread across his face as he took control. The goalpost was only a few meters away, and with a powerful kick, he sent the ball hurtling toward it. But just as he expected, Namakemono was ready, catching the ball with ease.
Namakemono yawned and threw the ball, which fell back into Chen's possession, but Rentaro was already on him, guarding him closely. "You're quite big, aren't you? Leave some space for me, you know."
"Just try shooting the ball, and I'll make sure it doesn't reach its destination," Rentaro responded, his voice firm, unyielding.
"Hoh~scary…" Chen mused, shoving Rentaro aside with his superior strength as he charged ahead. But before Rentaro could react, Ming had already passed the ball to Ren, who was waiting just a few meters away. Their eyes met, and in that moment, both knew exactly what needed to be done.
Ren charged forward, with Keitaro and Myushi closing in on him from either side. But Ren was not easily deterred. He had more tricks up his sleeve, and as the defenders converged on him, he gave the ball a gentle tap, causing it to stop just before Myushi's feet. Before Myushi could react, Ren swiftly reclaimed the ball, his long legs giving him the advantage.
"Sorry, but you can't escape," Rentaro growled, blocking Ren's path with his body, his arms outstretched to prevent any further advancement.
"Who said I'm trying to escape?" Ren shot back, his voice laced with determination.
With a powerful kick, Ren sent the ball soaring toward Chen, who was positioned near the goalpost. The pass was risky, the angle less than ideal, but Chen was not one to shy away from a challenge. He took the ball in stride, his eyes locked on the goal, but before he could make his move, Kagami appeared out of nowhere, blocking his path.
"You don't think you can do anything, do you?" Kagami's voice was cold, calculating, as he stood in Chen's way.
"Fuck it," Chen muttered under his breath, his frustration boiling over. He didn't care about Kagami's taunts; he had one goal in mind, and he was determined to see it through. With a fierce kick, he sent the ball flying diagonally toward the goal.
"Well, I suppose you didn't notice it, did you?" Kagami's words were like a punch to the gut, and for a split second, Chen faltered. He hadn't anticipated this.
"Huh?!" Chen gasped as he realized the ball had veered slightly off course. Kagami's presence had been enough to disrupt his concentration, and the ball was now heading straight toward the far corner of the goalpost, dangerously close to being out of reach.
Namakemono, who had been watching the scene unfold from his position at the goalpost, suddenly sprang to life. His earlier calm was gone, replaced by a fierce determination as he readied himself for the incoming shot. This was it—the moment he had been waiting for. The game had finally come to him.
But Chen had calculated one last move. He had anticipated the slight deviation in the ball's trajectory, and just as it was about to fly past the goalpost, he sprinted forward, lunging with everything he had. With a last-second stretch, he managed to tap the ball with the tip of his foot, redirecting it just enough to send it soaring into the net.
The ball slammed into the back of the goal with a satisfying thud, and for a moment, the entire field went silent. The realization that Chen had just scored the first goal for the Rowards hit everyone at once, and the silence was quickly broken by the sound of cheers erupting from his teammates.
"Yes!!" Chen pumped his fist in the air, his face breaking into a triumphant grin as he turned to face his team. Yuuki and Ren were the first to reach him, clapping him on the back in celebration. Even Kagami, who had been the closest to stopping him, couldn't help but nod in acknowledgment of the impressive goal.
"Damn, Ming! That was intense!" Yuuki laughed, his earlier frustration forgotten in the excitement of the moment.
Chen grinned back at him, still catching his breath. "I told you, didn't I? I'm good at getting between things."
The Rowards had taken the lead, and as they regrouped for the next play, the energy on the field had shifted. The first goal had set the tone, and now it was up to the others to follow through. But in that moment, as they prepared for the next round, the Rowards knew they had the momentum on their side. The game had only just begun.
Yet , Chen felt as if his back was being watched the entire time. He knew who it was but he felt something he had never felt in his life.