Chapter 114: Selection Phase Over
"Nice pass, Shidou."
Kira gave him a brief nod. To be honest, even he had been moving on pure instinct. There was no pre-planned strategy in his head for what had just happened.
"Like I said, we are both total freaks!"
Shidou opened his mouth wide, baring his tongue with a manic grin.
'Yeah... not doing that.'
Kira suppressed the urge to respond in kind. He still had an image to maintain; he couldn't go full psycho just yet.
"That link-up was insane," Bachira said, his eyes wide with curiosity as he jogged over.
"Was that all just on the fly? I did not know you were building a new golden duo while I was away, Kira."
"Haha! We just follow our gut! That is the only football that matters!" Shidou boasted, puffing out his chest.
***
The match resumed.
But Team B's morale had flatlined. Kira and Shidou's synchronicity was a crushing weight. Rin and Karasu tried to flip the script, pushing the ball through the midfield.
Rin eventually managed to claw back a goal off a clinical through-ball from Karasu, bringing the score to 4-3.
But it was a band-aid on a bullet wound. No matter how much they scored, they had no answer for the Kira-Shidou onslaught in the box. Raichi was pouring every ounce of soul he had into his defense, but he couldn't stop two monsters operating on a separate plane of existence.
Finally, Kira delivered the killing blow, slotting home the fifth goal to secure a 5-3 victory for Team A.
"Match over. Team A wins."
The speakers blared the final result.
"Tch..."
Rin's face was a mask of pure rage. This was the second time he had lost to Kira. Shidou was already an unpredictable chaotic variable, but a Kira who had been 'infected' by that style? It was too much. Rin felt like he was fighting a storm. All his calculations, all his high-level predictions—they were useless against two guys who just decided to score because they felt like it.
He and Karasu could trade goals with them, but they couldn't stop the bleeding. Kira's style was shifting too fast for Rin to adapt. By the time he found an answer, Kira had already moved on to a new question.
"Aww, look at that face. You look like you want to beat someone, Rin-chan. Can't handle the loss?"
Shidou went straight into taunt mode, getting right in Rin's personal space.
"Shut it, you pink-haired freak," Rin spat. He turned his back and walked off the pitch without another word.
Karasu just shrugged, looking exhausted. He walked over to Kira and offered a handshake. "Number One for a reason, I guess. I'll be back for that throne next time."
Kira gave a respectful nod. Karasu had been a massive pain in the ass for the duration of the game—a true 70/30 matchup, even if Kira was the 70.
"Catch you later, Kira. See you at the top," Bachira said, giving a quick wave. He'd been relatively quiet since his initial assist, the spotlight having been hijacked by the monster duo.
One by one, the players cleared out until only Kira and Shidou were left on the grass.
"Hey, Shidou..."
"Yeah?"
"Don't we have one more game to play?"
"Think so..."
"You take the lead on the next one. I'm done running," Kira said, collapsing onto the turf like a dead fish. 'Ego, you bastard, this is way too exhausting.'
Shidou just stared at him, for once lacking a witty comeback.
***
Audiovisual Room.
"Finally over. Man, what a hell of a show," Igaguri said, leaning back. He looked around and realized Niko was gone. "Wait, where did my commentator go?"
He asked around and found out Niko had headed to the cafeteria. It was finally dinner time.
Igaguri looked at the screen and saw Kira and Shidou lying in the middle of the pitch. He gave a smug little smirk. 'Doesn't matter how good you are if you miss the meal.'
He hopped up and headed for the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, the God of Field, Isagi: Snore! Snore!
He was still out cold.
***
Kira's stomach let out a violent growl. He felt his face heat up as he looked over at Shidou, who was also clutching his empty gut.
They were starving.
The heavy steel doors to the pitch hissed open again.
The final match was here.
Team C: Otoya, Yukimiya, Akira Endoji, Reiji Hiiragi, and Nagi.
Team A: Kira, Shidou, Jin Kiyora, Tokimitsu, and Shingen Tanaka.
"Alright. Let's finish this so I can go eat," Kira muttered, forcing himself off the ground and stretching his aching limbs.
Shidou cracked his neck.
"Yo, goggles," he called out to Yukimiya with a predatory grin. "You better watch out. You're about to deal with the hunger of two very cranky strikers."
"Is that so?" Yukimiya adjusted his glasses with effortless grace. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Match start.
The opening minutes were a chaotic blur of high-level play. Nagi, Otoya, and Yukimiya were the clear engines for Team C. On the other side, Kira was definitely slacking. He was basically walking through his routes, but even a 'walking' Kira was enough to keep the defense honest.
To Kira's surprise, his teammates were actually holding the line. Kiyora and Tanaka were playing out of their minds, trying to secure their spot on the final roster.
'I guess I can take a back seat for a minute,' Kira thought, watching the game unfold.
Kiyora and Tanaka were desperate to prove they belonged. They were linking up with Shidou while Kira acted as a high-level decoy. Tokimitsu was a ball of nervous energy, as usual, but his physical presence was undeniable.
***
Thirty minutes later.
"Ugh... what time is it?"
Isagi rubbed his eyes, stumbling out of bed. 'I thought I had more time before the third game. I must have overlept.'
He opened the door to the Video Room and froze. The place was packed.
"Isagi? You finally crawled out of your hole?" Hiori asked, looking back from the front row.
"Wait, what's going on?" Isagi asked, looking at the clock. Chigiri and Kunigami were there too. "Isn't Kunigami's game next?"
"The third and fourth games are already in the books, man," Raichi grunted.
"Morning, Isagi," Nanase said, waving him over.
"Are you serious? I slept through everything?" Isagi couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, you were dead to the world. Hiori tried to wake you up, but you didn't even move," Nanase explained. "You missed a hell of a show. Kira and Shidou's link-up in the fourth match was literally art."
"You can catch the replays over there. The scoreboard is updated too," Nanase added, pointing to a side monitor.
Isagi hurried over to check the results. Team A was undefeated.
"Check the big screen, Isagi. The fifth game is at the climax," Nanase said.
Isagi looked up, his eyes widening as he watched the monsters on the screen.
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Hand over all of your Power Stones!!
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