Second Half Kickoff.
Score: 1 - 2.
The whistle blew. The air was heavy.
Chigiri Hyoma stood on the right wing. He felt heavy. The insults from the locker room were replaying in his mind like a broken record.
"Ghost."
"Coward."
"Pathetic."
He looked down at his right knee. underneath the skin, the ACL scar throbbed. Not with pain, but with memory. The memory of the pop. The memory of his genius vanishing in a single second.
Is Isagi right? Chigiri thought. Am I just looking for a place to die?
The Game.
Team W was relentless. The Wanima brothers sensed the kill.
"Hey, Princess!" Keisuke Wanima shouted, dribbling toward Chigiri. "Still here? Why didn't you sub out?"
Keisuke pushed the ball past Chigiri.
"You're just a traffic cone!"
Chigiri instinctively took a step back to avoid the collision. Keisuke laughed and ran past him.
"DAMMIT CHIGIRI!" Raichi screamed from the center back position. "Tackle him! Foul him! Do something!"
Team W crossed the ball. It was cleared desperately by Kunigami.
The ball rolled out to the midfield.
Isagi Yoichi trapped it.
He was surrounded. Two midfielders were closing in.
Isagi's eyes scanned the field. Metavision.
The center is clogged. Kuon is useless bait. The left is blocked.
The only space is the right.
The space behind the Wanima brothers, who are pushing up too high because they don't respect Chigiri's speed.
Isagi looked at Chigiri.
The redhead was standing still, looking at the ground.
He's given up, Isagi thought.
Most playmakers would look for a different option. They would pass to the safe side.
But Isagi wasn't a playmaker. He was an Egoist.
I don't care if you've given up, Isagi decided. I'm going to force you to choose.
Isagi wound up his leg.
"RUN!" Isagi screamed, his voice tearing through the noise of the stadium.
He didn't pass to Chigiri's feet.
He smashed a long, high ball into the empty space deep in Team W's half.
It was a "bad" pass. It was leading Chigiri by 30 meters. It was heading straight for the touchline.
"What a trash pass!" Junichi Wanima laughed. "It's going out!"
The Team W defender turned slowly, jogging toward the ball to let it roll out.
Chigiri looked at the ball.
It was flying away from him. Just like his genius. Just like his past.
If I don't run, it goes out.
If I don't run, Isagi was right.
I am a ghost.
The Chain Breaks.
Something hot surged in Chigiri's chest. A mixture of rage and pride.
I was the best.
I was the wind.
I don't want to end here as a loser!
Chigiri leaned forward.
He dug his cleats into the turf.
He put weight on his right leg. He pushed.
Break.
BOOM.
A sound like a jet engine igniting.
Chigiri Hyoma disappeared.
"Huh?" Junichi Wanima blinked.
A red blur tore past him. The wind pressure actually ruffled his hair.
"W-What?!"
Chigiri was sprinting.
Not jogging. Not running. Sprinting.
The world blurred into streaks of color. The fear vanished. The knee didn't hurt.
It felt... good.
It felt like flying.
The Team W defender, who was jogging to the ball, suddenly heard thundering footsteps behind him.
He turned his head.
"HOLY—!"
Chigiri blew past him. He reached the ball inches before it crossed the line.
He trapped it at full speed.
"I'm... I'm fast!" Chigiri laughed, tears welling in his eyes. "I'm still fast!"
Isagi watched from the center circle. A dark, satisfied grin spread across his face.
"Finally," Isagi whispered. " The monster wakes up."
The Counter.
"Stop him!" Keisuke Wanima screamed, chasing after Chigiri. "Break his leg if you have to!"
Chigiri heard them.
Break my leg?
Chigiri looked back. The Wanima brothers looked like they were moving in slow motion.
You can't break what you can't catch.
Chigiri kicked the ball forward. A heavy touch.
"See ya," Chigiri smirked.
He shifted gears. Top speed.
He left the Wanima brothers in the dust. It wasn't even a contest. It was a massacre of speed.
He cut inside toward the goal.
The keeper came out.
"I'll block—"
Chigiri didn't slow down to shoot. He shot while running.
The momentum of his sprint transferred into the ball.
Sniper Shot.
The ball flew into the top far corner with laser precision.
GOAL.
Team Z: 2 - Team W: 2
The stadium erupted.
"YEAHHH!" Bachira jumped in the air. "Chigiri! You're a rocket!"
Kunigami ran over, looking shocked. "That speed... it's S-Rank!"
Chigiri stood by the goal, panting. He looked at his hands. They were shaking with adrenaline.
He looked up and saw Isagi walking toward him.
Isagi didn't high-five him. He stood in front of Chigiri, hands in his pockets.
"You took your sweet time, Princess," Isagi said.
Chigiri wiped his eyes. He smirked back.
"Shut up, Isagi. You passed it so far, I thought you were trying to kill me."
"I was," Isagi said calmly. "Kill the coward. Revive the striker. It worked."
The Collapse of Team W.
With Chigiri awakened, the game changed instantly.
The Wanima brothers were terrified. They couldn't press high anymore because one long ball to Chigiri would kill them.
Their synchronized attack fell apart as they argued about who should mark the "Red Panther."
"You mark him!"
"No, you're faster!"
"I can't catch him!"
Isagi watched their formation crumble.
They are terrified of the flanks. They are spreading out.
That leaves the center...
Empty.
Isagi received the ball from Raichi.
He walked through the midfield.
Kuon was standing there, looking dazed.
Isagi passed to Kuon.
"One-two," Isagi commanded.
Kuon, operating on fear, passed it back instantly.
Isagi used Kuon as a wall to bypass the last midfielder.
Isagi was at the edge of the box.
Chigiri is making a run on the right. The defense is shifting to him.
Bachira is on the left.
Decoys. All of them.
Isagi saw the path to the goal.
He didn't need to pass.
He wound up.
Direct Shot.
He smashed the ball into the bottom left corner.
GOAL.
Team Z: 3 - Team W: 2
Final Whistle.
GAME OVER.
Team Z had won.
Isagi stood in the center of the field, the true ruler of Building 5.
He had broken Kuon. He had awakened Chigiri. He had dismantled the Wanima brothers.
Kuon walked up to the team, head hung low. He looked at Isagi.
"I..." Kuon started.
"Save it," Isagi walked past him. "You're lucky we won. Next game is Team V. If you try to stat-pad again, I'll make sure you never touch the ball."
Isagi looked at the scoreboard.
3 Wins. 0 Losses.
They were qualified.
But Isagi wasn't smiling.
He looked at the monitor showing the other match result.
Team V: 5 - Team Y: 0
Nagi Seishiro: 3 Goals.
Isagi's eyes narrowed.
Qualifying isn't enough.
I want to crush him.