Chapter 98: Hyena Crow
Kira looked up and tracked the trajectory of Hiori's pass.
'Not bad.'
The arc was excellent, the angle perfect.
Hiori was already living up to his future reputation as Isagi's strongest support.
Just as Kira was about to step forward to comfortably trap the ball, he felt a sudden chill run down his spine.
'Something's wrong.'
Kira abruptly took half a step back.
In the distance, Hiori was dumbfounded. That was a pass he had delivered after carefully observing the field.
'Kira, are you serious about taking a step back?'
That small movement hurt Hiori's pride.
"THIS BALL!!! IS MINE!"
A roar erupted.
A figure burst out from the exact space Kira had just vacated.
Like a starving wolf pouncing on meat!
The crazed Shidou intercepted Hiori's pass.
Watching Shidou move, a chill lingered in Kira's spine.
Luckily, he had sensed the wind behind him. He had almost collided full-force with that maniac.
Even if he wouldn't necessarily lose in a collision, it would definitely hurt. And they were teammates anyway—if Shidou wanted to work that hard, let him go crazy.
Kira realized that having Shidou as a teammate wasn't bad. He could go back to his leisurely stroll.
"Don't even think about it!" Rin's eyes had already seen through the intent of Hiori's pass.
He had expected a showdown with Kira. He didn't expect this pink-haired freak to disrupt things again.
Rin forcefully blocked Shidou's path.
The two slammed into each other violently.
Bang.
Almost simultaneously, both their feet struck the ball.
Under the force from both sides, the ball popped out toward another direction.
"You Number Three... you're getting annoying..." Shidou was furious, his face flushed with anger.
"Shut up."
Rin was also surprised by Shidou's physical reaction speed in front of the goal. If he hadn't anticipated it, he might not have stopped that ball.
'Here it comes!'
'Right there.'
'The second ball.'
Isagi saw the ball's flight path and sprinted toward the landing spot.
'I'm the closest one. No one can beat me to it.'
'Just a direct shot from here, and it's in.'
Isagi's mind began to visualize the future where he scored.
"Isagi, trying to scavenge again?"
Just as Isagi raised his leg for a volley, Chigiri touched the ball faster than him.
Isagi's pupils dilated. 'Damn it! I saw it first!'
'But Chigiri beat me to the ball just with sheer speed?'
'Did I lose this chance just because my basic physical stats aren't good enough?'
Chigiri didn't hesitate. He didn't even have time to look up and check his teammates' positions. He cleared the ball immediately.
Running over and beating Isagi to the touch had taken everything Chigiri had.
But when Chigiri looked up to see the path of his clearance...
The ball was flying toward the edge of the midfield.
Chigiri suddenly had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Kira suddenly appeared right there. Ready to welcome the ball Chigiri had cleared.
"Kira... how is he there? Wasn't he preparing to receive Hiori's pass just a second ago?" Chigiri felt helpless.
"Kira... that guy is treating us all like puppets on strings..." Isagi suddenly realized. Shidou stealing the ball. Isagi running for the second ball. Chigiri's recovery defense.
Everything had been calculated by Kira.
"Not a chance." Karasu noticed it too. At this distance, only he could stop Kira.
"Don't think you can pass!!!" With a loud shout, Nijiro Nanase actually reached out to block him.
"Insect! Do you think you can interfere in a battle between us?" Karasu was getting anxious and glared at Nanase.
"I never thought I could stop you, but delaying you for a few seconds is enough." Nanase had plenty of self-awareness.
His value had to be demonstrated in this match too.
Karasu looked helplessly in Kira's direction.
It was too late.
Kira trapped the ball firmly with his right foot, then swung his leg back.
Boom!
A powerful long-range shot.
In front of the goal, Rin, entangled with Shidou, barely managed to jump.
But the ball grazed past the left side of his face and flew into the net.
A perfect worldie!
GOAL!
Team A took the lead again, 3-2.
"Nice, Kira-chan!" Shidou cheered for the goal. As if snatching Kira's pass earlier never happened.
"So... so strong." Hiori was also slightly shaken.
Kira's relatively unassuming figure could unleash such a powerful long shot.
"Tch..." Rin wiped his sweat, the chill in his eyes deepening.
Feeling the temperature drop beside him, Shidou was startled. "You really are a refrigerator. Your cold air could replace the AC."
"Careful you don't get arthritis."
"Shut up, insect tentacle freak!"
"Oh-ho? Got some spirit, don't you, Little Rin?" Shidou walked up to Rin, veins popping on his forehead. "I'm going to kill you on this pitch!"
"If you have the ability, come and try." Rin wasn't afraid in the slightest.
The two were like water and fire.
After scoring, Kira closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of the goal.
That's right. Before scoring that goal, Kira had used Rin's Trial Card.
Combining his knowledge of Shidou's personality from the manga. And his understanding of both sides' strength. Including Nanase's personality.
All of it assisted him in scoring that goal.
'Rin, your Trial Card feels pretty average to use now.' Kira sighed internally. It didn't feel as exhilarating as the first few times.
Unconsciously, Kira shifted his gaze to Isagi.
'My easy farm. Hurry up and grow.'
'I've almost farmed Rin dry already.'
The match continued.
Team B kickoff.
Rin passed the ball to Karasu.
As soon as Karasu started dribbling, Isagi stuck to him.
Isagi had been annoyed with this guy for a long time. Every time, Karasu was all over him.
'My turn now,' Isagi thought. 'Who doesn't know how to stick close?'
However, as soon as Isagi got close, Karasu extended his arm while moving, keeping Isagi at a certain distance.
Shut out.
'Using his hands?' Isagi was surprised. Karasu used physical contact to protect his dribble.
"So, I told you. In a 1v1 duel, you're just mediocre." Karasu trash talked Isagi, then started to show off his skills.
He controlled the distance with Isagi using his arm, shielded the ball, turned.
All in one smooth motion!
Breakthrough complete!
Isagi, having been passed, wasn't disheartened. Instead, his eyes gleamed sharply. 'Tabito Karasu. I see through you. The core of all your techniques.'
'It's your arm usage to control distance.'
'Hey, Isagi. Why are you just standing there like an idiot?' Kira was speechless.
Seeing Isagi stop moving, Kira had no choice but to step up and mark Karasu 1v1 himself.
After all, it didn't look like Nanase or Hiori could stop him.
On the other side, Shidou was already tangled up with Rin. Those two looked like they wouldn't stop until one of them was dead.
"Yo, Hyena Crow. Care to dance?" Kira looked at Karasu with eyes full of fighting spirit.
Karasu stopped the ball, stepping on it with one foot. "Well, well. Number One. What a hassle."
"You know I don't want to fight you. How about you let me through?"
Kira looked at him with a question mark on his face. 'Do you think we're playing house?'
"Hahaha! Knew it was impossible. Guess I have to try then." With that, Karasu dropped his shoulder and lowered his center of gravity, ready to make a move.
His entire body was instantly poised to strike.
'Interesting.' Kira's eyes burned with battle intent.
'First time facing Tabito Karasu.'
'Come at me with everything you've got!'
'Hyena Crow!'
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