Chapter 4: Tsurugi Gurushimi! (2)
The sun beat down on the soccer field, casting a golden glow over the intense match between Okawa and Raimon. The mysterious student with red hair continued to watch the game from a distance, his eyes fixed intently on the players. His expression was unreadable, but his gaze seemed to bore into the souls of the players.
"Hmph... too shallow," he muttered to himself, his voice barely audible.
On the pitch, Shun approached Akira, his eyes blazing with a mix of frustration and exasperation. "Akira!" he exclaimed.
Akira turned to him, a look of curiosity on his face. "Huh?"
Shun's expression turned incredulous. "So, you were really an experienced player, weren't you?!" he exclaimed, his voice rising in pitch.
Akira's eyes widened in surprise, and he took a step back, his hands raised in a defensive gesture. "Huh... wh-what? N-no, not at all! Truth is, I've never played in a match in my life!"
Shun's jaw dropped, and he stared at Akira in disbelief. "Wh-whaaaat?!!" he exclaimed.
The other players from both teams stopped in their tracks, their eyes fixed on Shun and Akira. The air was thick with tension as they awaited Akira's explanation.
Shun's eyes narrowed, his mind racing with questions. How could a totally inexperienced player perform the incredible play Akira had just made? It was ridiculous, impossible even.
"Then how did you do what you just did just now?" Shun asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Akira shrugged, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. "Well, I'm not really sure. When the kickoff was taken, my mind just went blank. I only had one objective - score!"
Shun's eyes widened, and he nodded slowly. "I-I see."
The conversation between Shun and Akira seemed to have captivated the attention of the entire field. The players from both teams watched with bated breath, their eyes fixed on the two Raimon players.
Akira had clearly become the focal point of the game, and everyone was eager to see what he would do next.
As the game resumed, Nozomi took the kickoff, and the Okawa players began to press forward once again. Ishikawa, the Okawa midfielder, shouted out instructions to his teammates.
"Oi! Pass to me, I need to show Raimon what's what!" he exclaimed.
The midfielder passed the ball to Ishikawa, who began to dribble forward, his eyes fixed on the Raimon goal. Shun and Akira charged forward, determined to stop him.
Stopping Ishikawa was up to them, and they were determined to give it their all.
As they closed in on Ishikawa, he suddenly let out a fierce battle cry. "Grrr... I've gotten sick of your futile attempts!" he snarled, his facial expression twisted in anger.
The next second, Ishikawa yelled out again, his voice echoing across the field. "Huff... huff... Guaaaaaaah!!!"
The effect was instantaneous. Akira and Shun stopped in their tracks, their eyes wide with fear. A strange, creeping sense of dread seemed to emanate from Ishikawa himself, affecting not just Akira and Shun, but the entire Raimon team.
Aoyoma Kaito, a Raimon player, suddenly turned and ran off the field. "I-I can't handle this!!" he exclaimed.
Another player followed suit. "Yeah! Me too, it's too much!" Riku Ayoka exclaimed, before fleeing the field.
Ishikawa's eyes seemed to gleam with an otherworldly intensity as he shouted out again. "Clear a path to goal! Guaaaaah!!!"
The Raimon players, including Shun and Akira, seemed to be under some sort of strange spell. They obeyed Ishikawa's command, parting to create a clear path to the goal.
Sawaegara, the Raimon goalkeeper, seemed frozen in terror, unable to move or react.
Ishikawa took advantage of the opening, shooting the ball with minimal power but high accuracy. The ball sailed into the goal, and the scoreboard flashed once more.
The score was now 26:1, with Okawa firmly in the lead.
As the game continued, the Raimon players struggled to regain their composure, but the strange fear that had gripped them seemed to linger, affecting their performance on the field.
The Okawa players were ecstatic about their massive lead, but their celebration was short-lived. A voice echoed across the field, silencing everyone.
"Is that really all you have, Raimon?!" the voice exclaimed.
All the players instantly broke out of the strange spell that had gripped them earlier. Their attention turned towards the direction of the voice. It came from a student with red, spiky, neck-length hair.
"Your plays are... too shallow!" he declared, his eyes scanning the Raimon team.
The Raimon side, mainly Shun and Akira, were shocked at his words the most. They knew he was referring to them.
"Who are you?!" an Okawa player asked, furiously.
"I'm Tsurugi Gurushimi!" the mysterious student replied. "There are 3 available spots on the Raimon side, right?! I would like to join!"
This gave everyone a shock. Another unknown player wished to join the match.
"W-wait! You can't just join the match!" Inoue stated, a worried look on her face.
Tsurugi's calm demeanor remained unchanged. "You have no right to refuse. Raimon are losing badly. They're also missing players as well. You can't seriously go against additional help, could you?"
Inoue instantly realized that he was right. "F-fine. But there's no extra jersey. The other players already took off!"
Tsurugi smiled calmly. "That's alright. I can manage my uniform."
He walked onto the pitch with a calm and cool demeanor, not giving attention to any player, until he eventually glanced at Akira with an emotionless face. He turned to Shun and said, "You're the captain, right? Shun Ayashime. I would like to take the kickoff."
Shun hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Um... sure. I don't see any problem."
Tsurugi thanked him and immediately walked up to the center of the pitch where the kickoff would be taken. All eyes were on him. Everyone was curious as to who this 'Tsurugi Gurushimi' really was.
Tsurugi gazed at the opposing captain, Ishikawa. "Hey, Ishikawa, right?"
Ishikawa replied, arrogantly, "Yeah, what's it to you?"
Tsurugi's expression remained calm. "Would it be against the rules to score from a kickoff."
Ishikawa's eyes widened in surprise. "What?!" he exclaimed.
Every player on the pitch, including Inoue and Takeshi, widened their eyes in shock. If Tsurugi asked such a question, it meant that he believed he could pull it off. But they all saw it as an impossible task.
Ishikawa sneered at Tsurugi. "W-well, I don't think so. But do you think you can actually pull it off?! Hmph!"
Tsurugi thanked him calmly. "Alright, thanks."
Everyone, including the Raimon players who refused to play, were all inwardly excited to see what Tsurugi would try to pull off. To everyone's surprise, he went to the kickoff center, but instead of facing Okawa's goal, he faced Raimon's. Everyone was shocked. It seemed as if he wanted to score against Raimon. And he did...
He shot the ball at incredible power. It passed Shun and Akira at incredible speed, even faster than Ishikawa's. It approached the goal faster and faster. Everyone thought it would fly right into the goal. But to their surprise, right before reaching the goal, the ball began to curve to the left.
"What kind of shot is that?!" Akira exclaimed.
The ball continued to fly around the pitch. The farther it went, the faster it became. It became stronger and stronger. Eventually, it took a huge curve and headed straight to the back of... Tsurugi?!
The shot flew at him at tremendous speed, and it only continued to become faster and stronger. Throughout its journey, a golden aura had enveloped the ball. It became bigger and bigger.
"Tsurugi, watch out!" Akira exclaimed in worry.
"Yeah, Tsurugi!" Shun also exclaimed.
They knew that it would cause serious damage to Tsurugi if he got hit with a shot of that much power.
The ball continued to fly towards Tsurugi. Getting closer to him. Everyone remained silent except for Akira and Shun, in anticipation.
Right before the ball reached him, Tsurugi turned around 180° at an astonishing speed. Nobody was able to keep track of his fast movements. He stretched out his foot at the ball.
"REVOLVING DEATH SHOT!"
To everyone's surprise, rather than Tsurugi being hurt, the ball was redirected to Okawa's goal. The defenders tried to stop the shot, but were all blasted away. The ball became faster and stronger as it approached the goal. The golden light became bigger and shone brighter. It instantly flew into the goal, blasting Okawa's goalkeeper away.
The scoreboard flashed once more, and the score was now 26:2. Everyone was astonished. Another newbie had once again scored, surpassing the plays of the experienced players in the Raimon XI.
"Who... who is that?" a Raimon full-back asked, still trying to process what had just happened.
"He's certainly not your average player, that's for sure," Sawaegara said, shaking his head in amazement.
The Ishikawa side were shocked the most. "That's hissatsu... it's not normal," Kiriya said, his eyes wide with wonder.
"Yeah," Ishikawa said, his expression grim. "Throughout its flight around the field, it builds up a tremendous amount of power in the form of that golden energy. But that's not the topic of interest. We should really be focusing on his physical power. That Tsurugi... it would take an incredible amount of physical power to redirect that shot. Yet, he redirected it without a care in the world, and the shot only became stronger."
"Tsurugi Gurushimi... his no ordinary player," someone muttered, echoing the thoughts of everyone on the field.
Who exactly was Tsurugi Gurushimi? What secrets lay behind his incredible abilities? The questions swirled in everyone's minds as they watched Tsurugi walk back to the center of the field, his expression calm and collected.
The game was far from over, and it seemed that Tsurugi was only just getting started.