Riku's foot swung.
The pass split forward
Not to Yusuke.
To Kaito.
Clean.
Direct.
Kaito received it in stride.
"…Of course," Yusuke thought.
Kaito didn't hesitate.
He drove forward immediately, pushing the ball ahead with sharp, aggressive touches. Ryo Akimoto stepped up to meet him, shoulders squared, eyes locked.
Kaito cut right.
Ryo matched.
Kaito cut left
Ryo stayed with him.
"…Tch."
Kaito forced it anyway.
Shot.
Blocked.
Again.
The ball bounced loose.
Toma Ishikawa stepped in first and cleared it wide.
"Reset!" Riku shouted.
But it was already too late.
Shin was there.
Always there.
He collected the loose ball with a single calm touch, lifted his head once, and
passed.
Not forward.
Not wide.
A curved ball straight through the middle.
Perfect weight.
Kazuo Ryjin was already moving.
"…Damn it," Daichi muttered as he turned.
Too late.
Kazuo slipped between Daichi and Ren like they weren't even there. One touch to control. Second touch forward.
He didn't slow down.
Didn't think.
Shot.
Tsubasa dove
The ball hit the net.
0 1.
Silence.
For half a second, everything just… stopped.
Then
"SHIT!" Yuma yelled, kicking the ground.
Kazuo turned, already jogging back to his half.
No celebration.
No smirk.
Like it was expected.
"…So that's how it is," Yusuke muttered.
Kaito clicked his tongue hard.
"…Too easy."
Riku clapped once.
"Reset!"
They moved back into position.
Kickoff again.
This time
Riku didn't even look at Yusuke.
He tapped the ball to Hiroto again.
Play resumed.
Immediately
pressure.
Shin stepped up again.
Cutting the lane.
Forcing Hiroto wide.
"…He's reading everything," Hiroto muttered.
"No kidding," Riku replied.
They shifted left.
Takumi received.
Kenta Shiba closed him instantly.
Takumi tried to turn
Forced back.
"…No space."
The ball came back to Riku.
Yusuke moved.
Found a small gap.
Raised his hand slightly.
"Here."
Riku saw it.
Passed.
Yusuke received.
First touch clean
But before he could even move
Daizen Mori was there.
Right in front of him.
Calm.
Unmoving.
Watching.
"…You again."
Yusuke tried to shift left.
Daizen didn't bite.
Tried to cut right
Daizen stepped.
Perfect timing.
Took the ball.
Clean.
"…Tch."
Shin picked it up immediately.
Passed.
Kazuo moved again.
Explosive.
Ren stepped early this time.
Better.
Kazuo didn't force it.
He flicked it wide.
Renji Aokawa sprinted onto it.
Cross.
Low.
Dangerous.
Yuma slid
Cleared it out for a corner.
"Stay on them!" Yuma shouted.
The corner came in.
Hayate Sudo whipped it.
Jin Takahara rose
Header
Just over.
"…Too close," Tsubasa muttered.
Yusuke stood there.
Watching.
"…I'm not even touching the ball properly."
Kaito was already calling again.
"Riku! Faster!"
"Shut up and move!" Riku snapped back.
The next play started slower.
Hiroto held the ball longer.
Pulled Shin toward him.
Then passed.
Riku.
Riku turned
For once, Shin was half a step late.
"…Now."
Riku drove forward.
Yusuke moved.
Kaito moved.
Both options.
Again.
But this time
Riku didn't hesitate.
He passed
To Kaito.
Kaito received.
Turned.
Shot.
Blocked.
Again.
Ryo.
Always Ryo.
"BRO " Kaito snapped.
The rebound bounced back out.
Yusuke moved in.
Finally.
He reached it first.
Shot
Masaru Endo stepped in.
Blocked.
Again.
The ball was cleared.
"…Damn it," Yusuke said quietly.
He stepped back.
Breathing steady.
But his eyes
were sharper now.
"…They're shutting everything down."
"Yeah," Hiroto said. "Welcome to a real defense."
The game continued.
And it got worse.
For the next few minutes
Yusuke barely touched the ball.
Every time he moved into space
Daizen followed.
Not tightly.
Not aggressively.
Just enough.
Blocking angles.
Cutting lanes.
Shin did the rest.
Every pass that should've reached Yusuke
never did.
"…This is annoying."
Then
another turnover.
Hiroto lost the ball under pressure from Toma.
Shin took it instantly.
One touch.
Forward.
Kazuo again.
Daichi stepped.
Kazuo slipped past him again.
"…Damn it!"
Ren came across.
Kazuo shot
Tsubasa saved.
But barely.
The ball bounced out.
Loose.
Dangerous.
Yuma got there first this time.
Cleared.
Hard.
"…We're getting cooked," Yuma muttered.
"No," Takumi said.
"We're surviving."
Yusuke exhaled slowly.
"…Not for long."
He stepped forward again.
This time
he didn't wait.
He moved deeper.
Closer to Riku.
"Give it."
Riku passed.
Yusuke received.
Shin stepped immediately.
Of course he did.
Yusuke held the ball.
Shin didn't dive in.
Just waited.
Watching.
"…You're reading me too?"
Yusuke shifted right.
Shin mirrored.
Shifted left
Still there.
"…Annoying."
Yusuke passed back.
Reset.
"…You're getting shut down," Kaito said as he ran past.
Yusuke didn't look at him.
"…So are you."
"Tch."
Next play.
Hiroto intercepted again.
Riku took it.
This time
he didn't slow.
He drove forward hard.
Sora overlapped.
Takumi cut inside.
Kaito sprinted.
Yusuke ran.
Both open.
Riku passed
Kaito again.
Kaito controlled.
Shot
Saved.
Eiji Narukami.
Clean.
"…AGAIN?!" Kaito shouted.
The ball bounced out.
Yusuke moved.
Rebound
He struck it.
Finally.
Shot
Blocked.
Daizen.
Again.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
The ball cleared.
Yusuke stood there.
Still.
For a second.
"…I can't get through."
That thought hit harder than anything.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Just…
truth.
Kazuo walked past him.
"…You're slow."
Yusuke looked at him.
"…What?"
"You're thinking too much," Kazuo said.
Then he kept walking.
No reaction.
No follow up.
Just gone.
"…Tch."
That annoyed him.
More than anything.
The game resumed again.
Shin had the ball.
Again.
Always.
He passed wide.
Renji.
Back inside.
Toma.
Then
a sudden through ball.
Kazuo ran.
Again.
Daichi was already chasing.
Ren stepped in earlier.
This time
they got it.
Clean.
Ren won the ball.
Finally.
"GO!" Riku shouted.
Transition.
Fast.
Riku took it.
Drove forward.
Yusuke ran.
Kaito ran.
Both open.
Again.
Same moment.
Same choice.
Riku slowed.
Shin was recovering.
Daizen stepping.
Ryo shifting.
Everything tightening.
Yusuke adjusted his run.
Better angle.
Kaito pushed deeper.
More direct.
"…Choose," Riku muttered.
He passed.
To
Yusuke.
Finally.
Yusuke received.
Clean.
Inside space.
Daizen stepped.
Again.
Same wall.
Yusuke didn't hesitate this time.
He pushed forward immediately.
Daizen moved.
Yusuke cut left
Daizen stayed.
Cut right
Still there.
"…Move."
Yusuke forced it.
Shot
Blocked.
Again.
"…DAMN IT!"
The ball rolled away.
Kaito got it.
Shot
Saved.
Again.
"…This is bullshit," Kaito muttered.
The whistle didn't blow.
The game kept going.
But something had changed.
Yusuke stood there.
Breathing.
Thinking.
"…He's right."
Kazuo's words echoed.
"You're thinking too much."
Yusuke looked up.
At the field.
At Shin.
At Daizen.
At Kazuo.
"…Then stop thinking."
The next play started.
And for the first time this match
Yusuke didn't wait.
He moved.
Early.
Sharp.
Before the pass even came.
Riku saw it.
And for the first time
there was space.
Real space.
The ball rolled toward him