The field was still loud.
Too loud.
Voices, footsteps, laughter, shouting.
But one person wasn't part of it.
Kazuo stood still.
Not near his teammates.
Not walking off.
Just standing there.
Watching.
His eyes were locked on Yusuke.
And the look on his face
was wrong.
Not calm.
Not confident.
Not even disappointed.
It was something else.
His jaw was tight.
His eyes burned.
There was disgust in them.
Like he had just seen something he didn't respect.
But mixed into it
was something deeper.
Something cracked.
Something broken.
His pride.
Shattered.
And beneath that
rage.
Pure.
Quiet.
Controlled rage.
"…That… was garbage," he muttered.
Not loud enough for anyone else to hear.
But he meant it.
Not the goal.
Not the result.
The feeling.
The fact that they had lost control.
That he had lost control.
Shin stopped a few steps behind him.
"…You're taking it badly."
Kazuo didn't turn.
"…We were better."
"No," Shin replied.
"…We were in control."
A pause.
Kazuo clenched his jaw tighter.
"…Same thing."
"…No."
Shin's voice didn't change.
"…They evolved mid game."
That word hung there.
Kazuo finally moved.
Just slightly.
"…Tch."
His eyes didn't leave Yusuke.
"…Then next time…"
His expression twisted just a little more.
"…I'll crush that."
No shouting.
No anger in his voice.
Just certainty.
Then he turned.
And walked off.
The locker room was quieter.
Not silent.
But calmer.
The noise from outside didn't reach here the same way.
Players sat wherever they could.
Benches.
Floor.
Leaning against lockers.
Breathing.
Recovering.
Yuma was still talking.
Of course he was.
"I'M TELLING YOU THAT WAS THE CRAZIEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!"
Sora laughed from the floor, still lying flat on his back.
"You say that every game."
"BECAUSE IT KEEPS GETTING CRAZIER!"
Hiroto sat with his elbows on his knees, staring at the ground.
"…That ending…"
He shook his head.
"…I still don't get how you two did that."
Takumi leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
"You don't need to understand it."
Hiroto glanced at him.
"…Then what?"
Takumi's eyes shifted toward Yusuke.
"…You just need to recognize it."
Kaito sat on the far bench, one foot resting on the ground, the other slightly lifted, tapping lightly.
He didn't say anything.
But he was listening.
Of course he was.
Riku stood near his locker, still wiping sweat from his neck with a towel.
"…Man…"
He let out a long breath.
"…That was insane."
No response.
He looked up.
Yusuke was sitting a few lockers down.
Quiet.
Still.
Not celebrating.
Not laughing.
Just thinking.
"…Oi."
Riku tossed the towel over his shoulder.
"What?"
Yusuke didn't look at him immediately.
"…That last play."
Riku smirked slightly.
"…Yeah?"
"…It wasn't just instinct."
That got his attention.
Riku leaned forward slightly.
"…What do you mean?"
Yusuke finally looked at him.
His expression wasn't excited.
It wasn't proud.
It was focused.
Sharp.
"…We changed mid game."
Riku blinked.
"…Yeah."
"…Not just individually."
A pause.
"…As a team."
The room didn't go silent.
But it got quieter.
Not because anyone was told to stop talking.
But because people were starting to listen.
Even if they didn't realize it yet.
Kaito's foot stopped tapping.
Takumi's eyes shifted again.
Hiroto looked up slightly.
Yusuke continued.
"…At the start, we were just reacting."
"…Then we adjusted."
"…Then we forced it."
Another pause.
"…But at the end…"
His eyes stayed on Riku.
"…We moved as one."
Riku didn't interrupt.
Didn't joke.
Didn't brush it off.
"…Yeah."
Yusuke leaned forward slightly.
"…That's not enough."
That line hung in the air.
Riku frowned.
"…Not enough?"
"…If we want to keep winning."
Yusuke's voice didn't rise.
Didn't change.
But the meaning behind it did.
"…We can't just reach that level once."
"…We need to stay there."
A longer pause now.
The room felt different.
Not relaxed.
Not celebratory.
Something else.
Something building.
"…And if we can stay there…"
Yusuke's eyes sharpened slightly.
"…We can go further."
Riku stared at him for a second.
Trying to process it.
Trying to match it.
"…Further?"
Yusuke nodded once.
"…Yeah."
Another pause.
Then
"…We evolve."
That word landed heavier than anything else he had said.
Riku let out a short breath.
Not a laugh.
Not disbelief.
Just… something in between.
"…Evolve…"
He repeated it quietly.
Then looked straight at Yusuke.
"…What do you mean by evolve the team?"