[WELCOMEEEEEE TO THE FIRST SEMIFINAL MATCH OF THIS YEAR'S HOLY ROAD!!!! FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FIFTEEN YEARS, WE WILL BE WITNESSING A MATCH BETWEEN THE LEGENDARY RIVALS ZEUS ACADEMY AND RAIMON JR.HIGH IN THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT!! FANS HAVE FLOODED THE STADIUM TO SEE WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP AND MOVE ON TO THE FINALSSSSSS OF HHHHHHHHHHOLY RRRRRRRROAD!!!!]
Taking a deep breath in through her nose, Mika took in the sounds of the cheers and exuberant shouts from the crowd.
It was hard to believe that it was really happening.
This was her first time making it to the semifinals and Raimon was only two matches away from winning it all. Stepping onto the field alongside her teammates, Khronoa's words rang like a bell in her ears,
Zeus is going to do our very best to win and I hope it'll be the same for you. Let's promise to both go all out and play a semifinals that everyone is going to remember!
After her talk with the forward from Zeus last week, Mika had taken a lot of time to herself to simmer on those words but there was no way to test the validity of her suspicions until now...
Whether or not she truly enjoyed soccer...
She would find out today.
Grabbing her right arm fiercely so that it would stop shaking, Mika gave a nod to Leonidas who was standing ready beside her and the two ran forward hearing the whistle from the referee indicating the start of the match.
Mika watched cautiously as Khronoa swiftly sent the ball flying backwards towards Zeus's defensive line upon seeing Mika and Leonidas close in on her. Unlike their previous opponents, Khronoa was known for her level-headedness under pressure and based on their previous match, Zeus had no issues with playing passively while waiting for a moment to strike.
If that was the case then now wasn't the time for Raimon to act passively and allow Zeus to control the flow of the match.
Giving a signal to Leonidas to move in from the right and for Serika and Makoto to be ready to close in, Mika dashed ahead to follow the arc of the ball as it headed for Zeus's captain, Rhea Kikuchi but furrowed her brows as the defender gave her a confident smile back while running alongside her.
"Got you."
Moving faster than Mika anticipated she could move, Rhea burst ahead causing Mika to similarly begin to sprint to catch up but was caught off guard as Rhea bent her knees to jump high into the air and send the ball coursing through the sky with the force from her head.
"Prometheus!"
"Got it!"
Scooping up the ball quickly, the small but defined muscles in Prometheus's arm began to tighten as he tensed up then released the ball before anyone in the Raimon team could react.
"Selene-nee!"
Letting the ball hit the side of her foot, Selene secured the ball tightly halfway across the field and saw a rather tall, blonde boy running towards her.
Hmph.
Galahad was it?
His reaction time wasn't bad considering how quickly he had been able to turn around upon seeing Rhea's header to Prometheus, but he definitely wouldn't be able to keep up with her speed!
Moon Rabbit's Dash!
Running back as soon as she realised what was happening, Mika watched futilely, still on Zeus's side of the field, as a pair of long, midnight-black, rabbit ears emerged from Selene's head followed by three sonic booms echoing across the field, leaving Galahad in the dust.
Taking advantage of the gaps in their formation, the only thing left between Zeus and the goal was Hyun-ki but with Khronoa appearing seemingly out of thin air, Mika felt a sting in her chest as Selene passed the ball easily to the striker.
White Hurricane!
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[GOAL! Zeus's Khronoa Yoshizawa fires a powerful kick to An Hyun-Ki's right with 'White Hurricane', giving the Raimon keeper no chance of blocking that goal! Zeus has been maintaining a strong advantage in possession time so we'll see if Raimon can even the score after the next kickoff.]
Watching from the sidelines, Ikue sat mutely upon seeing Zeus's 'Saintess' score effortlessly after the long throw from their goalkeeper Prometheus. Looking to her left, she saw Aphrodi nodding contemplatively and recording notes on his tablet, seemingly unconcerned by Zeus's quick first goal.
"Is that even allowed?"
Not looking away from the match, Aphrodi opened his mouth to speak while his hand continued to write gracefully with the stylist he brought with him.
"Back-pass Rule. Law 12, Section 2. As long as the ball is played back to them by a body part that isn't the foot, the goalkeeper is allowed to handle it with their hands."
Pausing for a moment from writing, Aphrodi looked across the field at Hera who made eye contact with him and he continued,
"A risky strategy but they caught us off guard so it paid off. However, as long as we don't lose our composure, Zeus won't be able to repeat that move again so we should be able to catch up."
Ikue nodded in understanding and spoke up confidently hearing Aphrodi's assessment of the state of the game.
"Right!"
Meanwhile, unaware of Aphrodi's optimistic commentary, Mika wiped the beads of sweat that had formed on her neck with a trace of annoyance in her movements as she saw the Zeus members celebrate their goal frenziedly by piling atop Khronoa such that the golden-orange hair of the Zeus forward could barely be seen.
This was their fifth match at Holy Road and Raimon had yet to score the first goal in any of them, meaning rather than taking the initiative they were forced to play catch up.
And though Mika knew that she would need time to get back to her peak condition after taking so many months off, after all of the training she had undergone she had expected to show some improvements by now but yet again, she was being outdone...
First by Seiryuu...
Then by Tsukishiro...
And now by Khronoa...
How...
How frustrating.
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Scratching her bottom lip agitatedly, Mika's amethyst eyes shined vibrantly as she began to lead an aggressive attack alongside her teammates. Running ahead, Mika's eyes followed the zigzag path of the ball as it was sent instantly from Gabriel to Kenji to Sadao to Leonidas and then...
"Mika-nee!"
Hup
However, the moment Mika's foot touched the ball that Leonidas had sent her, she observed six shadows circle around her at the corner of her eye and she turned around knowing who would be waiting for her.
Grinning vivaciously, Khronoa gave her a look of recognition and her eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"I hope you haven't forgotten about us! There's no way we're going to let you score this easily!"
Hissatsu Tactics : Catenaccio Counter!
Erg...
Completely focused on maintaining possession of the ball, all of Mika's burdensome thoughts that were constantly whispering in her mind, fell silent, and it was as if the world had simply become her and the ball.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
This was her ball.
As long as she could just maintain possession for a few more seconds and make it past Khronoa, it was a clear shot for a goal...
Gritting her teeth, Mika paused for a short second before pulling a feint and attempting to swivel right in a clean motion but the instant she thought she had escaped, she saw a pair of golden eyes blinking victoriously at her.
"You almost had me, but my teammates have my back! Selene!"
Appearing from behind her, the upper corner of Selene's mouth turned upwards as she stole the ball from Mika in one motion then turned to transition into an attack. Similarly moving forward, Khronoa head turned to face Mika and she opened her mouth gleefully,
"I told you this match we would fight with all we got didn't I? Isn't...soccer so much fun?"
Then disappearing, Mika was left staring at Khronoa's back as the 'Saintess' and 'Lunar Rabbit' of Zeus were forced to pause upon encountering Nariko and Gabriel who had moved up to meet the duo.
"Fun..." murmured Mika softly to herself.
Opening and closing her fist on the field, Mika nodded slowly to herself.
While she still was unable to completely understand the tempestuous emotions that swirled within herself, Mika knew that she was getting closer to an answer to the question that had been plaguing her conscience since she had decided to rejoin the Raimon soccer team. Though she couldn't enjoy soccer purely for soccer's sake like Yuka or Khronoa or play in order to exert dominance over others like Seiryuu...
There was no denying that whenever she stepped foot on the field there was a desire that creeped out from the depths of her heart, yearning to be released and play without any restraints.
Free from the binds that she had created for herself and restricted her every waking moment.
The moment she touched the ball, it just felt so familiar....
As if a piece that was missing inside of her was reunited with her soul and she was whole once more.
Was this what it meant to like something?
If her mother were here, Mika knew exactly what she would say...
Shaking her head violently to avoid having to hear her mother's voice ring in her head, Mika looked down at her feet one last time. And though her hair blocked her eyes from being seen, if ten people were asked to describe what emotion was flowing through her purple eyes right now, each would come up with a different response until finally the tumultuous sea in her heart began to quiet.
Right now, Mika was certain of one thing.
There was a voice calling out to her from within and it was telling her now was the time to overcome her limits!
Blasting forward with a minacious and demonic purple aura emanating from her right eye, Mika received a connecting pass from Makoto and turned around to face the seven Zeus members that surrounded her in a hexagonal formation.
Hissatsu Tactics : Catenaccio Counter!
Knowing none of the Raimon members had the capacity to break their 'Catenaccio Counter', Khronoa still felt an ominous sense of disquiet as she saw Mika battling to keep possession over the ball with the other Zeus members.
"Careful, the look in her eye has changed!"
It was too late.
Taking in a deep breath, purple fog rushed across Zeus's side of the field while the sky became blotted out by dark, cumulonimbus clouds that created a dreadful atmosphere on the field. Reaching towards the sky, Mika's eyes seemed to fill with a horrible black ink before it became to seep outwards and drip down from her face like oil. As each black tear hit the ground, one large bubble appeared for each drop until six dark orbs surrounded Mika and prevented the Zeus members from getting anywhere near her. Beginning to spin, the bubbles surrounded the ball that was now floating in front of Mika and turning her body sideways, she slashed the ball vertically with her foot causing the wave of darkness to race towards Prometheus blinding him completely.
BLADE OF DESOLATION!
The next thing Prometheus knew, the world had turned white except for a black slash that split him in half and staring at the black blood that dripped downwards from his body he didn't even notice the ball blast his body into the net. Gasping, Prometheus was brought back to reality and perspiration dripped from his face as he struggled to stand.
[Raimon's Demon Queen evens the score with a powerful shoot that was able to break through the famous 'Catenaccio Counter'! After having their hissatsu tactic defeated by Okumi Kujira of Susanoo in the Quarterfinals, Zeus struggled to regain control of the match! Will that be the case today or is this the end for Zeus's Holy Road?]
Mika felt a monkey-like hand wrap around her neck while a much larger arm came in from the other side and gave a small smile seeing Makoto and Gabriel had sprinted to celebrate her goal with her.
"That was amazing Kuroha-san!!"
"A little bit scary but awesome Kuroha-san! Now I know why Makoto said not to get on your bad side!"
Ignoring Makoto jab Gabriel in the side for talking too much, Mika looked downwards at Leonidas who was struggling to get past the two older boys to congratulate her on her new hissatsu.
"I think you killed him[Prometheus]...I'll do my best to do that too!"
Orange eyes ablaze while he said this, Mika was a little worried that she was spreading weird ideas into Leonidas's head but he seemed more enthusiastic than before so she patted his head before moving back into position.
"Whoa! Aniki, did you see that? That looks like something you would do!"
Snorting next to Daigiichi who was watching the match with wide eyes from his phone, Haruka cattily answered for Seiryuu.
"Oh please, just because she did one decent shot doesn't put her on the same level as big bro!"
"Hmm, I don't know Haruka. I thought it was pretty Plus Ultra myself? The 'Catenaccio Counter' is a pretty tough tactic to get past, especially if you want to strong-arm it and do it by yourself."
"What?! Stop talking crazy Suzu-nee or else Daigiichi is going to get the wrong idea and think he actually said something right for once!"
Continuing to watch the match expressionlessly on his own phone while the three continued to bicker, Seiryuu's eyes were the only part of his face to indicate anything about the Eisei striker's inner thoughts as today they seemed to resemble small, blue flames rather than a pair of eyes.
BLADE OF DESOLATION!
[GOALLLLL! Mika Kuroha heads Raimon back in front with a 2-1 lead over Zeus...]
"It's a good shoot."
"Huh?" replied Daigiichi, Haruka and Suzaku in unison as if they couldn't believe their ears.
Seiryuu rarely complimented other players and after his strange behaviour at the training camp they hadn't expected him to actually comment on Mika's new hissatsu technique much less say anything positive about it.
However, pretending he hadn't heard his siblings' alarm in their voices, Seiryuu continued to watch the match quietly as an intense fervour fell upon the locker room as the Eisei members prepared for their upcoming match with Outei Tsukinomiya.
"The flow is shifting."
Panting alongside Khronoa, Selene nodded her head reluctantly in agreement. Zeus mainly specialised in counterattacking and quick plays now, but it was useless because while Mika had power similar or even higher than Okumi, unlike the Susanoo striker, she had considerably better ball control that would make it difficult to steal the ball from her with speed alone.
Pausing to move the hair out of her face, Khronoa gave Selene a confident smile and continued with conviction palpable in her voice.
"Let's do it. Plan B."
Sigh
Knowing what Selene was about to say, Khronoa interrupted her before she could speak.
"We've been training all last week for this, we knew we would need it and if we don't use every card we have at our disposal we'll only end this Holy Road with regrets! I don't want our dream to end here Selene."
"..."
"Alright. Let's try it."
Beaming, Khronoa gave Selene a wide smile and rushed to go inform the other members of the change in plans before the next kickoff began.
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Defence Equation!
Pushing up his glasses arrogantly, Kenji surveyed the field after successfully capturing the ball from Zeus forward, Themis, but rather than seeing the field before him he stood frozen in place as the grass turned brown due to desiccation with the sky turning red as three suns blazed overhead.
"What the–"
Feeling the heat soar with obvious heat waves filling the air, Kenji thought he was hallucinating as he observed a wave of dust that was followed closely by a storm of huge boulders which violently tossed the Raimon members to the sides like rags.
Boom
Hissatsu Tactics : TITANOMAKHIA!
"...."
Unable to see the field due to the enormous red dust storm, raging sun-orange flames and golden flashes of brilliant lightning, the announcer paused before hesitantly beginning as the dust finally began to clear.
[Goal? GOAALLL! Zeus scores with a fierce counterattack making Raimon unable to maintain a lead for more than five minutes! Raimon was completely helpless and unable to react at all to Zeus's new hissatsu tactic...The momentum of the match is changing once again!]
"Oh...How interesting..."
"Stop lying Nosaka." said Yuka while giving a derisive look of scorn from Nosaka's left side as two teens along with Haizaki watched the match casually on the screen in their locker room.
"And whatever could you mean by that, Fukunaga-kun?"
Rolling his eyes rather than bothering to reply, Yuka knew by now that the more interesting Nosaka said something was, the more sarcastic the older boy was being.
Nosaka continued to speak upon seeing that Yuka wasn't falling for his bait and shrugged his shoulders.
"It's a primitive solution and means they completely failed to utilise the 'Catenaccio Counter' for what it's worth. The 'Catenaccio Counter' is a defensive hissatsu tactic developed by Kageyama Reiji and Fideo Ardena of the Orpheus meant to contain any offence and turn it into a counterattack. Zeus's inability to handle Okumi and Mika simply indicates a critical lack of individual skill in their defenders while their tactic hopping shows a lack of flexibility to evolve their formations to adapt to weaknesses and instead they're just going to completely switch strategies and hope Raimon will be thrown off guard long enough they can secure a lead large enough to win the match. It's a desperate move not a calculated one."
[GOAAAAALLLL! Zeus will be the one to take the lead at the end of the first half at 3-2 over Raimon. Despite showing a mainly defensive pressure formation at the start, Zeus has completely abandoned that strategy and adopted a powerful offensive formation that has Raimon on the ropes!]
Putting his bag back into his locker, Yuka slammed the door shut before bothering to reply.
"I don't agree."
"..."
"Then care to explain yourself Fukunaga-kun?"
Opening his mouth lazily, Yuka responded half-heartedly,
"The 'Catenaccio Counter' was a low press tactic they picked up quickly thanks to Fideo's presence during the time in between the Holy Road Preliminaries and Finals. It was never meant to be a defining strategy used by Zeus and a defensive formation like that would never suit the members' capabilities anyway. On the other hand, 'Titanomakhia' is a high press tactic that takes advantage of the physicality of their members meaning they can seal off Raimon's attacks before they can even begin."
And while Yuka didn't particularly care for any of the remaining teams left in Holy Road, he supposed among the 4, Zeus was the most tolerable. Lacking any particularly outstanding players in his opinion, it was at least respectable they were using every weapon at their disposal to win...
Even if that meant sacrificing their best player to do it.
Looking up at the monitor once more as he thought this, Khronoa's sunny-orange hair reflected off his eyes ominously as he followed her strenuous movements across the field causing a cruel smile to appear on Yuka's face.
How miserable.