Riku shifted the ball one more time.
Yusuke was right there.
So close that it barely made sense.
Too close for a normal passing angle.
Too close for defenders to read properly.
Too close for anyone else on the field to understand except the two of them.
And that was exactly why it worked.
Shin threw himself toward the space between them, trying to cut the lane before it fully existed. Daizen was still recovering, still trying to decide whether to close Yusuke or block the return to Riku. Jin stepped in front of the box, ready to throw his body at the first real shot. Eiji stayed half a step off his line, knees bent, hands low, eyes locked on the ball.
Everything was compressed.
Everything was burning.
The final seconds had stretched into something slow and violent.
Riku saw Yusuke's movement.
Yusuke saw Riku's.
No one called for anything.
No one needed to.
Riku nudged the ball left.
Not far.
Just enough.
Yusuke stepped into it and killed the pace for half a heartbeat.
That tiny pause made Daizen commit.
He stepped hard, shoulder first, sure that Yusuke would either trap or shoot.
Yusuke did neither.
He flicked it first time with the outside of his foot, sending it back across Daizen's body and into the lane Riku had already started attacking.
Daizen's eyes widened.
Too late.
Riku burst through.
"NO WAY!" Yuma shouted from deep behind the play.
Shin stretched for one last desperate block, but Riku was beyond him now. Not cleanly. Not comfortably. But enough. He carried the ball into the box with Kazuo chasing from behind and Jin stepping up from the front.
Kaito had made a hard near-post run and dragged Ryo with him. Sora kept his run alive at the far side, pulling Masaru a little wider than he wanted to go. Takumi stayed just outside the right edge of the box, ready for the pullback. Hiroto hovered at the edge of the attack as the safety valve if everything fell apart.
Everyone was moving.
Everyone mattered.
And because everyone mattered, the lane between Riku and Yusuke stayed alive.
Jin committed.
Riku touched the ball once across his body.
Jin followed.
That was the opening.
Tiny.
Sharp.
Real.
Riku did not shoot.
He stabbed the ball square with the inside of his foot.
Not toward Kaito.
Not wide to Takumi.
Back.
To Yusuke.
Yusuke hit it first time.
He did not let himself think.
No hesitation.
No old memory.
No second-guessing.
The strike came low and fast, but not wild. It cut through the only lane left between Jin's recovering leg and Eiji's outstretched hand.
Eiji reacted instantly.
He got down.
He got close.
But he was late by the smallest possible margin.
The ball skipped off the grass, kissed the inside of the post, and flew into the net.
Goal.
For a second, the entire field went silent.
Then it exploded.
"YEEEEEEESSSSS!" Riku screamed.
Yusuke's eyes widened for just a fraction before the emotion finally broke through his usual calm.
"LET'S GOOOOOO!" he shouted back.
Riku turned and crashed into him full force, grabbing him by both shoulders. Yusuke stumbled a step, then shoved him back with a grin that barely looked like him.
"We DID IT!" Riku yelled.
"YEAH!" Yusuke yelled, louder than anyone had heard from him all match.
Kaito stopped dead and stared at them for half a second.
Then he clicked his tongue, but this time there was no bitterness in it.
"…That was clean."
Sora sprinted at them with both arms already up.
"NO WAY! NO WAY! THAT WAS INSANE!"
He slammed into both of them from the side and nearly sent all three tumbling.
Yuma was already running the length of the field like he had scored it himself.
"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"
Even Hiroto was smiling now, tired as hell and breathing hard.
"…So you two really did that in ten seconds."
Takumi reached them a moment later, still more composed than the rest, but even he could not hide the sharpness in his eyes.
"That was the right decision," he said.
Riku laughed breathlessly.
"You think?"
Takumi looked at Yusuke.
"No. I'm talking about the pass before it."
Yusuke looked back at him and nodded once.
"…Yeah."
Behind them, Tsubasa stood near his goal and exhaled through his nose.
He did not shout.
He did not run the whole field.
But he raised one hand briefly in acknowledgment.
Daichi looked up at the scoreboard, then down at the grass, then finally let out a laugh.
"…About damn time."
Ren walked past him, still trying to get his breathing under control.
"They earned that one."
At the center, Kazuo had not moved.
He stood where he was and stared at the goal.
Not angry.
Not broken.
Just still.
Shin came to a stop a few yards behind him, chest rising hard. His eyes were fixed on Riku and Yusuke as they celebrated.
"…So that's what you were building," Shin said quietly.
Kazuo smirked.
"…Yeah."
He looked toward Yusuke.
Then toward Riku.
And for the first time all match, Kazuo's expression held something beyond confidence.
Respect.
Jin bent slightly, hands on his knees, staring at the ground.
"We were there."
Ryo shook his head once.
"Didn't matter."
Daizen looked toward Yusuke.
Not annoyed.
Not rattled.
Just honest.
"…That was good."
Eiji pushed himself up from the turf and looked back into his goal. The ball was still there, resting against the netting like proof.
He walked in, picked it up, and held it at his side.
He did not look angry either.
He just looked disappointed that he had been beaten in a way he almost understood, but not fully.
The celebration from Southside United still had not died down.
Riku finally let go of Yusuke and pointed at him with a grin that looked half-crazy from exhaustion.
"You said ten seconds!"
Yusuke, still breathing hard, looked back with that same rare grin still on his face.
"…Yeah."
"And we really did it!"
Yusuke let out a short laugh.
"Barely."
"Still counts!"
Kaito arrived and stopped beside them.
He looked at Yusuke first, then at Riku.
"Don't get used to it."
Riku blinked.
"Used to what?"
"You two looking that good together."
Sora immediately jumped in.
"Bro is jealous."
"Shut up."
"I'm serious," Kaito said, ignoring Sora. "Next time I'm the one scoring."
Yusuke looked at him.
"Then score."
Kaito smirked.
"…I will."
That was enough.
No fight.
No bitterness.
Just challenge.
Exactly where it needed to be.
The referee glanced at his watch.
Everyone saw it.
The realization hit both teams at once.
That goal had not just changed the score.
It had almost certainly changed the match.
Still, the whistle had not blown yet.
There were heartbeats left.
Not many.
But enough for one final restart.
Both teams dragged themselves back into shape.
No one sprinted now.
No one had that kind of energy left.
Southside United retreated with a different kind of confidence. Not careless. Not loose. Just certain.
Riku pointed quickly as they moved back.
"No dumb fouls. Stay compact."
Hiroto nodded.
"I'm sitting on Shin."
Takumi pointed to the right.
"I've got Kenta if he overlaps."
Sora, still breathing hard, jabbed a thumb toward Renji.
"He's not getting a free cross."
Yuma yelled back toward the center.
"Kazuo doesn't breathe without us knowing!"
Daichi answered.
"Then stay awake."
Ren rolled his shoulders once.
"I'm with you."
Tsubasa stepped off his line and shouted the final message from the back.
"One play. That's it."
Across from them, Ironclad reset.
Kazuo stood over the ball again, but this time he was smiling openly.
Shin walked up beside him.
"We have one chance."
Kazuo nodded.
"One's enough."
Hayate moved higher.
Toma drifted closer for the second ball.
Renji and Kenta both pushed up the wings. Jin stayed near the halfway line now, ready to launch it back if it broke loose. Even Eiji had stepped farther out than usual, reading where the ball might come after the restart.
The whistle blew.
Kazuo tapped it back.
Shin hit it long immediately.
No more buildup.
No more shape.
Just final chaos.
Jin attacked the dropping ball and won the first touch, glancing it toward the box. Daichi rose and got enough on it to ruin the angle, but not enough to kill the danger entirely. The ball bounced awkwardly near the edge of the area.
Toma charged in.
Hiroto charged too.
They collided shoulder to shoulder, and the ball squirted loose to Hayate.
Hayate took one touch and shot from distance.
Ren threw himself in front of it.
Block.
The rebound kicked wide toward Renji.
Sora was already there, dead tired but still moving.
Renji tried to wrap his foot around a cross.
Sora blocked it.
The ball flew up high again.
Yuma backed under it.
Kazuo came too.
Yuma jumped first and headed it clear.
Not far.
But enough.
Shin tried to gather the second ball again.
Riku got there.
For one final second, the two of them met with everything they had left.
Shin tried to drag it free.
Riku hacked it away toward the sideline.
And that was when the final whistle came.
Loud.
Sharp.
Definite.
Over.
Southside United had won.
The sound hit everyone differently.
Yuma screamed first.
"WE WON!"
Sora dropped straight to the ground on his back, laughing and gasping for air at the same time.
Hiroto bent over with both hands on his knees and just shook his head.
"…That was ridiculous."
Takumi closed his eyes for one second and exhaled hard before looking back toward the center.
Kaito stood still, breathing through his nose, then finally turned toward Yusuke and Riku.
"…Don't think this means I'm behind."
Riku laughed.
"Too late."
Yusuke looked at Kaito and smirked slightly.
"Keep up."
Kaito clicked his tongue, but there was no real bite in it now.
On the other side, Kazuo stood with his hands on his hips, staring forward.
Then he looked at Yusuke.
No smile this time.
Just something honest.
"You got me."
Yusuke met his gaze.
"For now."
Kazuo's mouth curved again.
"…Good."
Shin walked past a second later and glanced at Riku.
"That final exchange…"
Riku grinned despite himself.
"Yeah?"
Shin looked at Yusuke.
"…It was ugly."
Yusuke blinked.
Then Shin looked away.
"But it worked."
That was the closest thing to praise they were going to get from him, and everyone knew it.
Riku laughed out loud.
"I'll take it."
Yusuke looked back at the net one more time.
The ball was gone now.
But the moment stayed there anyway.
That pass.
That return.
That finish.
That scream.
For the first time in a long while, he did not feel like he was chasing the game.
He felt like he had shaped it.
Riku stepped up beside him one last time.
"So."
Yusuke glanced over.
"So what?"
Riku grinned.
"…Ten seconds was enough."
Yusuke looked back at the field.
Then, just barely, smiled again.
"…Yeah."