Score: 0 - 2 (Team W Leads)
The stadium hummed with the tension of a collapsing empire. Team Z, the kings of Building 5 just an hour ago, were being dismantled by their own greed.
"Give me the ball!" Kuon screamed, his face flushed with panic. "I need to score! If we lose 2-0, my ranking will drop!"
Raichi ignored him, trying to force a pass to Kunigami, which was easily intercepted.
"You guys suck!" Raichi yelled.
Isagi Yoichi stood in the midfield, a calm island in a sea of stupidity.
They are spiraling, Isagi analyzed. Panic has set in. When players panic, their field of vision narrows to a single point: The Ball.
Kuon is staring at the ball. The Wanima brothers are staring at Kuon, waiting to crush him.
Isagi looked at Bachira.
"Do it," Isagi whispered.
Bachira grinned. He intercepted a loose ball from Raichi's failed play.
"Hey, Kuon!" Bachira chirped. "Here's your chance, hero!"
Bachira launched a sharp pass straight to Kuon's feet.
"Yes!" Kuon's eyes lit up. Finally! A chance to redeem myself!
He trapped the ball. He was 30 meters out.
"I'll shoot! I'll—"
SLAM.
Before Kuon could even turn, Keisuke Wanima slammed into his back.
"Gotcha, greedy pig!"
Junichi Wanima poked the ball away from the front.
"You're too slow! You hold the ball too long!"
Kuon fell to his knees. "No..."
"Counter!" Keisuke yelled, turning upfield. "Let's make it 3-0!"
The Wanima brothers started their run. They expected an open field.
They expected Team Z to be crying.
But as Keisuke looked up to pass, he froze.
Standing directly in his passing lane was Isagi Yoichi.
"Predictable," Isagi said cold-heartedly.
Isagi didn't tackle. He simply intercepted the pass that Keisuke hadn't even made yet. He stole the ball right off Keisuke's toe as the striker wound up to kick.
"What?!" Keisuke gasped. "Where did you come from?"
"I wasn't supporting Kuon," Isagi said, accelerating past the stunned brothers. "I was waiting for him to die."
Isagi burst into the open space.
The Team W defense was pushed high, expecting an attack. They weren't ready for a turnover this deep.
Isagi was alone.
One defender. The goalkeeper.
The defender rushed him.
Isagi looked to his left. Kunigami was running.
Logic says pass.
But the team is broken. A pass now looks like weakness.
I need to show them who the Alpha is.
Isagi performed a fake pass motion with his eyes. The defender hesitated, leaning toward Kunigami.
Isagi cut right.
Direct Shot.
He didn't trap. He smashed the bouncing ball into the bottom corner.
GOAL.
Team Z: 1 - Team W: 2
Isagi didn't celebrate. He picked the ball out of the net and walked back to the center line.
He stopped next to Kuon, who was still on the ground.
"You..." Kuon looked up, humiliated. "You used me as bait?"
Isagi looked down at him. The blue aura around Isagi was jagged and terrifying.
"You wanted the ball, Kuon. You got it. And you lost it exactly like I calculated."
Isagi leaned closer.
"You aren't a striker. You're a beacon for the enemy. Every time you touch the ball, they swarm you. That makes you useful... as a decoy. So keep crying for the ball. It clears the path for me."
Kuon's face twisted in shame. The reality of his mediocrity hit him harder than any tackle.
The Target Shifts.
The game restarted.
The Wanima brothers weren't laughing anymore. They glared at Isagi.
"That Number 11..." Junichi grunted. "He's the core."
"Forget Kuon," Keisuke signaled with his eyes. "If we stop Isagi, we win."
Team W changed tactics. They stopped pressing high. They dropped deep to clog the center, cutting off Isagi's space.
Isagi realized it immediately.
The middle is suffocated. I need width.
Isagi looked to the right flank.
Chigiri Hyoma was standing there.
Unlike the rest of the team who were angry or greedy, Chigiri was just... quiet.
He was jogging. He avoided sprints. When the ball came near him, he passed it back quickly to avoid contact.
He's the broken gear, Isagi realized.
Isagi passed the ball to the wing.
"Go, Chigiri!"
Chigiri received the ball.
Junichi Wanima sprinted at him. "I'll crush you, Princess!"
In the past, a winger would sprint down the line.
But Chigiri flinched. He saw Junichi's sliding tackle coming.
If he hits my leg...
Chigiri stopped. He passed the ball backward to the safety of the defenders.
"Safe..." Chigiri breathed.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Raichi screamed, tearing his hair out. "You had the lane! Why did you stop?!"
"I... I didn't have the angle," Chigiri lied.
Team W seized the momentum.
"He's scared!" Keisuke laughed. "Target the redhead! He's a coward!"
Isagi watched Chigiri retreat.
He's not just useless, Isagi thought. He's actively killing our offense. Because of his fear, the field is shrinking.
The first half ended.
Halftime Score: 1 - 2.
Locker Room.
The atmosphere was worse than before.
"Kuon, you're trash!" Raichi yelled.
"Chigiri, you're a coward!" Igarashi joined in. "We're losing because of you two!"
Isagi sat on the bench, drinking water. He looked at Chigiri.
The speedy boy was sitting with a towel over his head, isolating himself.
Isagi stood up and walked over. He ripped the towel off Chigiri's head.
Chigiri looked up, startled. "What the—?"
"You're relieved, aren't you?" Isagi asked quietly.
"What?"
"You're relieved that we're losing," Isagi said, his voice cutting through the locker room noise. "Because if we lose, and you get eliminated, you can finally quit soccer. You can tell yourself 'I didn't quit, I lost'. You can blame the team. You can blame your leg."
Chigiri's eyes widened. "Shut up. You don't know about my leg."
"I know you're running at 50%," Isagi said. "You're waiting for a reason to give up. That makes you the most pathetic person in this room. Even Kuon is trying, in his own greedy way. But you? You're just watching us die."
Isagi turned away.
"If you're scared, stay in the locker room. I'd rather play with 10 men than with a ghost."
Isagi walked out to the tunnel for the second half.
Chigiri sat there, his hands trembling. The words dug deep into his soul.
Ghost.
Coward.
He looked at his right knee. The scar was white and old.
Is it holding me back?
Or am I holding it back?