9 Years Ago, Hakuren Kids Football Club
“Wow, Ryoga-kun! That was amazing!”
Ryoga scratched his nose in embarrassment as the Orphanage Director Tanaka-san ruffled his hair, while promising to treat them all to Tonkatsu after the match.
“Stop messing up my hair, Jii-san! It wasn’t that amazing…”
Despite saying this, Ryoga felt a surge of pride swell up within him. They had completely demolished the opposing team in the friendly that had just wrapped up and Ryoga knew he was going to be the best player Hakuren had ever seen.
It was only a matter of time after all.
Having never lost a single match or one v. one since he started playing football, by now, Ryoga had become used to the adulation and praise thrown at him left and right from teammates, coaches and local reporters.
“Once in a Generation Genius.”
“Future Inazuma Japan Representative”
“The Next Fubuki Shirou”
Though Ryoga didn’t think Fubuki Shirou was quite at his level, he supposed they needed someone who could possibly compare to his talent so he guessed Fubuki would do for now.
However, Ryoga was aiming higher.
He was going to be the best defender the world had ever seen.
No, the best defender of all time! The absolute best in history!
One Month Later
Huff Huff Huff
“Wow, that was pretty fun! I guess it wouldn’t hurt to stretch my legs out every once in a while after all!” said a girl with a hint of chime-like laughter mixed in her light voice that rang through the field like a songbird.
Panting heavily, sweat was dripping from every pore in his body despite the cool temperature, and Ryoga’s red eyes looked upwards into the closed eyes of the girl who was standing over him. Ryoga had never experienced such humiliation in his entire life of 6 years!! Left kneeling on the ground due to his utter exhaustion, Ryoga’s hands began to drag into the ground as he struggled to lift his body upwards while the girl with long, white hair tied in a high ponytail stared at him curiously while blocking the sun with her head.
“Need some help?”
Hearing the innocent question however only made Ryoga more furious, and feeling rage mix into his boiling blood, he slapped her hand away and got back up on his own.
Ryoga could hardly believe this girl had gotten past him so easily and scored single handedly without any help from her teammates. It was impossible! It had to be a fluke…there was no other explanation. Though he had only starting this year, Ryoga had trained more diligently than anyone else he knew and he had heard that this stupid girl had only started playing two weeks ago according to his teammates.
And despite Ryoga telling himself that it was just a simple fluke…
That day…
Ryoga learned what a true genius was.
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[Nayoro KFC vs Hakuren KFC ends 8-1! Great job to both teams!]
3 Years Later, Hakuren Mountains
ARGGGGGGGHH!
Ryoga’s short legs were moving so quickly he almost lost control over his body but managed to right himself before he could trip as he chased the two bears that were currently running away from him after a fierce battle in the snowy alpine environment.
“DON’T RUN FROM ME YOU STUPID BEARS!!”
Scooping up the fallen ball in a smooth motion, Ryoga instantly threw it up into the air and smashed it downwards like a meteor with his foot towards the retreating bears and was satisfied to see the larger bear fall down slowly and let out a mournful “awooooo’ before finally collapsing right in front of the cave. Upon seeing the larger bear’s body stop moving, the smaller bear began to let out wails of confusion and despair as he saw the small human with beady, red eyes approaching slowly.
Merciless, Ryoga let out a hyena-like laugh of maniacal satisfaction as he prepared to finish the baby bear that was trying to awaken its mother.
“TAKE THIS!”
“...”
Huff Huff
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Ryoga looked at the two fallen bears and confirmed they weren’t moving before finally sitting on their bodies as the frigid winds continued to bite at his exposed ears and fingers. Despite the low temperatures, Ryoga felt his body heat up causing his vision to become dyed in red and his head to pound with a steady boom.
Victory would always be his.
If Fubuki had defeated one bear he would defeat two!
If Yukimura had trekked the mountains of Hakuren with 25kg weights on each ankle he would do it with 50!
Ryoga had long since realised his talent wasn’t comparable to the best of his generation, but he didn’t care. There was no time to waste bemoaning his lack of potential, for Ryoga believed that his efforts would never betray him. Even if so-called ‘geniuses’ had a higher starting point, no one would outdo him because as long as blood flowed through his veins, Ryoga would not accept defeat.
Never!
Another 3 Years Later, Hakuren Jr.High vs Raimon. Holy Road Quarterfinals.
Fuck.
Even after all these years, Tsukishiro was still…
Still…
[GOAAAAAAAAAL!]
[SIMPLY UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!! HAKUREN’S NEWEST RECRUIT, FIRST YEAR TSUKISHIRO SCORES THE FIRST POINT OFF OF RAIMON THIS HOLY ROAD. AFTER AN AMAZING SHOOT WITH ‘YUKI-ONNO NO MAI’ THIS MAKES HER THE FIRST THIS YEAR TO GET PAST ‘GUARDIAN DEITY’ SHINSUKE NISHIZONO!!!!! ARE WE SEEING THE BIRTH OF A NEW ‘LEGENDARY STRIKER???’ I HAVE NO WORDS!!!! A SIMPLY INCREDIBLE SHOOT!!!]
FUCK!!!
HOW?!
Eyes filled to the brim with spite, a heinous aura was being exuded by Ryoga as he watched with resentment as the team all went over to tackle Tsukishiro and congratulate her on the beautiful goal. Ryoga had long since abandoned any arrogant notions of talent or genius, and was able to accept the bitter reality that at the world level he was simply average and yet!!!
He could accept that…
Prodigies were prodigies for a reason, if they grew on trees they wouldn’t be called prodigies.
But still…
He had put in the hours…
The effort…
The work…
He had pushed himself to the brink of collapse under the harshest possible training regimine he could maintain without dying…
And yet!!!
He could still remember his very first time using a hissatsu…
ICE GROUND!
“Oh, that looks fun Ryo-chan! Let me try one!”
SNOW ANGEL~ cried out a young Tsukishiro with her long, white ponytail shining under the sun after joining the Hakuren Primary School Team with Ryoga.
His first time using his very own hissatsu…
SUBZERO TRIDENT!!
“Fufu…cool technique Ryo-chan but try taking this!”
ETERNAL BLIZZARD!
“Guess you still haven’t caught up to me Ryo-chan~~” said Tsukishiro as she laughed merrily and walked away after scoring easily on him.
And now, even when he and Tsukishiro were the only two first years selected to start for Hakuren at this year’s Holy Road she was still outdoing him…
Every time Ryoga thought he had surpassed his limits, Tsukishiro was always there to remind him that there was another challenge to overcome. It seemed like no matter how much he grew he would never be able to catch up at this rate.
It was just so…
Fuck!!
Realising where his emotions were heading, Ryoga held himself back and attempted to swallow the envy that was threatening to creep up and consume him. He wasn’t pathetic enough to resent Tsukishiro just because she was more skilled than him. After all, the higher the level Ryoga reached the more he had realised there were many more monsters besides Tsukishiro awaiting him at the world level…
And yet, even though Ryoga told him he wasn’t pathetic enough to be envious of those who were born with the world within their grasp, in the celebratory atmosphere as the Hakuren members lifted Tsukishiro up joyfully, he couldn’t help but wish for a single second…
That should be me…
One Year Later, Hakuren Outdoor Field. Night.
Tap Tap Tap
Ryoga was beginning to pack up after another diligent day of practice when his ears perked up hearing the steady sound of a ball being dribbled on the field and turned around to walk back towards the previously empty field.
ICE GROUND!
Ryoga’s eyes narrowed, radiating a cool energy as he processed the image before him.
A small boy, who usually carried lifeless orange eyes, had a faint smile that was unfamiliar to Ryoga while his green hair flowed behind him as the boy’s movements became one with the wind generating a dazzling display of ice that covered the field.
Ha.
Continuing to watch from a distance as the green haired boy let out gentle puffs of condensation in the cool night air after a successful execution of ‘Ice Ground’, Ryoga snorted as his face contorted in an ugly manner.
It was…
Perfect.
Ryoga could hardly recognise the pathetic rat whose eyes had changed dramatically from the eyes that he had first seen in that landfill a year ago.
When Ryoga had first met Leonidas, the weakness that radiated from the small boy had completely disgusted every fibre of his being. Watching the small child sloppily eat up the chocolate mushrooms he had taken out from the jacket he was wearing, Ryoga couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sorry sight.
“Whatever….it’s not my problem” Ryoga muttered to himself while preparing to leave but the boy looked up and Ryoga was trapped by those damn eyes.
He knew those shitty eyes.
They were the eyes of someone who had given up.
The eyes of a dead man walking…
And so, Ryoga knew he would regret his actions but…
Telling himself it was just a whim, Ryoga tossed over another bag of Kinoko no Yama to Leonidas and yelled out,
“Hey, if you wanna eat more stuff like this then come on.”
But now…
His eyes had changed.
Those weren’t the eyes of the dead anymore.
Those were the eyes of a human…
No.
Ryoga’s instincts were telling him that at this very moment…
Ryoga was witnessing the birth of a beast…
A shiver ran down Ryoga’s spine, and his eyes widened as he realised what his body had just done.
Ha!
Him! Afraid?! Because of a midget like that?
Sucking in a breath, Ryoga told himself it would be fine. He had saved him after all from that bitch mother of his, hadn’t he? So just this once…
Just this once…
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Stay dead for me…” whispered Ryoga under his breath.
Having made his clandestine decision, Ryoga ran over to the field where Leonidas was still practising by himself.
“HEY! What do you think you’re doing! A useless piece of garbage like you could never play soccer so don’t get any stupid ideas! If you want to make yourself useful, the best someone like you could be is a manager so don’t waste your fucking time and just watch from the sidelines where you belong.”
“Sorry, Katata-sama… It won’t happen again. I was just curious…”
“Didn’t ask, don’t care. I don’t want to see you touching a ball again unless it’s to retrieve it for me, got it? Now grab my stuff and let’s go.”
“Yes Katata-sama…”
Sigh
Turning around, Ryoga ignored the dull look that returned to the face of the boy walking behind him and clenched his teeth together.
Just this once…
Stay dead Leonidas.
One Year Later, Hakuren Training Camp with Raimon
They were really testing him.
Those annoying bitches, Mika Kuroha and Hyouga Yukimura…
Sticking their noses where it didn’t belong.
Thanks to their meddling, that look had returned to Leonidas’s face.
Putting it at the back of his mind, Ryoga had managed to survive a year ordering Leonidas around, ignoring the uneasy feeling that always arose when he saw the younger boy…but internally he knew that because of him…
Leonidas wasn’t living…
He was surviving.
Nevertheless, Ryoga told himself he didn’t care. After all, there were already so many prodigies popping out of nowhere, who cared if there was one less on the field right?
Even though he told himself he didn’t care, then why?
Why was he so bothered?
Ryoga had always lived following his belief that if you didn’t look after yourself then no one else would so he couldn’t possibly be feeling guilty now, right?
Ugh
Shit
He wasn’t convincing anyone right now. Even though he had told himself he wasn’t a pathetic enough bastard to give in to jealousy here he was…
What the hell was he doing?
Who cared if Leonidas played soccer or not? No matter how talented he was, Ryoga would just have to work ten times harder, no, twenty times harder to make sure he stayed on top. He had never backed down from a challenge before, and now wasn’t the time to start!
After all…
He couldn’t bear to look at those eyes any longer…
It had become too much.
He wasn’t a good enough person to help Leonidas on his own, but the very least he could do was free him to live his own life…
“Go”
“...?!”
“I said go away! Don’t you know what that means you idiot! Hakuren doesn’t need a weakling like you…I certainly don’t! So leave me alone…I don’t want to see your pathetic face ever again”
That was enough, right? Even a dumbass like Leonidas should have gotten the message with that…
Or so Ryoga had thought.
Leonidas was more of an insufferable bastard than he had taken him for…
Present Day, Hakuren v Raimon. Holy Road Quarterfinals.
What the actual fuck?
After he had taken the time to generously kick Leonidas to the curb, THIS is what he was greeted by?
Those same FUCKING EYES!
Now wasn’t the time to give up! Ryoga wouldn’t be satisfied until he crushed that genius with his own hands and feet…and yet Leonidas wasn’t even focused on the match. The green haired boy looked more like a sad sack of potatoes that was wallowing in a puddle of filthy rainwater than any sort of beast Ryoga had sensed on that day.
He couldn’t believe the disrespect.
Ha…
It was unbelievable…
Letting out a half laugh of disbelief, Ryoga's eyes widened hysterically and he found his body moving before his mind had made a decision and grabbed the young boy by his collar.
“FIGHT ME YOU BASTARD!! FIGHT ME!!”
Ryoga’s instincts were never wrong…
“FIGHT ME!!”
“FIGHT ME YOU BASTARD!! FIGHT ME!!”
Panting heavily, saliva was flying everywhere as Ryoga had to be restrained by his teammates while he could see Leonidas’s eyes widening stupidly with surprise.
Don’t fucking give up!!
Ryoga didn’t need Leonidas to go easy on him!! He hadn’t climbed to the position of the number one defender in Japan by facing cowards!
“FIGHT ME!! FIGHT ME YOU BASTARD!!”
MMMPFFFFFH!
“That’s enough Ryoga”
Unable to speak due to Tsukishiro’s hand wrapped tightly around his mouth, Ryoga stopped fighting and allowed himself to be restrained while everyone got into positions to resume the match.
“Don’t interfere, Tsukishiro. I’m serious…this is between me and the kid.”
“I wasn’t planning on it Ryo-chan~~”
Eyes narrowing suspiciously, Ryoga turned around to walk back towards the goal while Tsukishiro called out from behind,
“Just be careful Ryo-chan~~After all, I wonder who the unleashed beast will target in its first hunt?”
Tch.
Tsukishiro was giving useless warnings like usual.
Ryoga could take care of his own business.
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[The match resumes! It seems for the first time this match, Raimon is moving with strong, aggressive momentum towards centrefield! Rikitake-kun makes a pass…and it connects with Raimon forward Leonidas Tsujo! Will we be seeing a rematch between Raimon’s newest addition and Hakuren’s Adamantine Glacier after all?]
“I’m…I’m going to beat you Katata-sama!”
Leonidas’s amber orange eyes were filled with newfound resolution and seeing the change in his gaze, Ryoga centred his body to ready himself to fight the opposing forward head on. Deadly silent for once, Ryoga didn’t move a muscle as he scanned Leonidas’s movements analytically, refusing to let his guard down.
PANTHER BLIZZARD V2!!!
SIGH OF THE FROZEN KING!
Pant Pant
It still wasn’t good enough.
Ryoga knew Leonidas could unleash more power than that and so he stood with his arms crossed after clearing the ball with little trouble as Leonidas bent over to catch his breath. Leonidas still wasn’t anywhere close to breaking through his limits and until then Ryoga would wait.
Wait for the moment where he would be able to exercise all his might as ‘Hakuren’s Adamantine Glacier’...
Leonidas expected Ryoga to start shouting at him like he did in the first half but felt even more uncomfortable as the Hakuren defender remained silent and looked at him with a hardened expression that he hadn’t seen on the Hakuren defender before. Feeling flames beginning to spark within him, Leonidas rubbed his face with his right fist messily and went back to help defend as the match resumed play.
Ryoga was as strong as ever, but no barrier was completely invulnerable..
He needed his kick to be stronger.
More powerful.
More destructive.
More. More...More!
Eyes unblinking, Leonidas felt as if the world had become slower as his senses seemed to sharpen and he rotated his head like an owl. Watching from afar, he could easily follow the movements of the Raimon players as they desperately battled for control of the ball to make another opportunity for him to get past Ryoga.
Leonidas knew where he needed to be now.
Then, leaning forward and sprinting ahead he mustered as much strength as he could into his weak throat,
“HERE!”
Eyes widened in surprise, Makoto nodded and yelled back,
“You got it Tsujo-kun!”
Hup
Leonidas accepted the ball comfortably, and felt a rush of energy coursing through his legs and unbeknownst to him, an ominous and horrifying smile had taken over his face.
He could do it!
“That’s it kid hahaha. Smash those insects into oblivion!! Consume them all and become a king!”
Too focused on the sensation of the ball connected to his body, Leonidas ignored the strange man’s voice that echoed into his head and quickly shot the ball forward with his right foot. Then, dashing forward an enormous, silver grey wolf overtook his body and trekked across the field in large bounds to catch up with the ball and using its paw, smashed the ball upwards. Awaiting the ball in the air, was a panther on a mountainous cliff that mimicked Leonidas’s movements as he followed the ball into the air and sent it flying at a slight angle backwards where at the top of an enormous cliff was a majestic, golden lion. Jumping from the lower mountain that had emerged from the ground, Leonidas’s foot reached the lion’s maw as they two let out ferocious roars in unison, surrounding the ball in an electric-red energy wave tinted with a neon-blue outline.
BEAST KING’S AUTHORITY!
SIGH OF THE FROZEN KING!
Matching his movements with the giant, frigid king of ice behind him, Ryoga grunted as his foot began to be pushed back by the overwhelming force of the shoot. Sweat dripped down his face and froze as soon as they generated, and Ryoga’s face began to become encased by a mask of ice. Despite putting all of his strength into his core and legs, he could feel it…
Ryoga was being pushed back…
Hmph
Closing his eyes, Ryoga felt the throne of ice begin to crack, and moments later was thrown back as the roar of the lion demolished his kingdom of ice. Sent flying, Ryoga smirked as the shoot flew by him and into the Hakuren goal.
This was…
This was the most he could do for that idiot…
“That was a good shoot you shitty kid” muttered Ryoga while the announcer began to scream.
[GOAAAAAAAAAL! RAIMON MANAGES TO EVEN THE SCORE BY BREAKING THROUGH HAKUREN’S GLACIAL DEFENCE!!! AND BY NONE OTHER THAN ROOKIE LEONIDAS TSUJO WITH ‘BEAST KING’S AUTHORITY’! WITH THE SCORE AT 1-1 THE MATCH REMAINS ANYONE’S GAME!! WHO WILL SECURE THE FIRST SPOT IN THE SEMIFINALS?!]
ARRGGGGGGGHHHH!!
Letting out a roar of victory, Leonidas slid on the field victoriously before soon being lifted into the air by his teammates.
“That was amazing Tsujo-kun!”
“I knew you could do it Tsujo-kun!”
“That was an excellent hissatsu, Leo-kun.”
Now back on the ground, Leonidas looked at Mika who was looking at him with a kind look in her eyes and surrounded by the warmth of the Raimon players, Leonidas wondered to himself,
“What was this feeling?”
It felt…
It felt…good.
Really good.
Pupils fully dilated, Leonidas felt both the most at ease and the most anxious he had ever felt before.
This feeling that he had just now…
While it had been completely foreign and euphoric, it also terrified him how amazing…how alive he had felt. Leonidas, who for his entire life had nothing, finally learned what it was like to crave something, causing a trickle of fear to mix into his heart.
A fear that he would never be able to live again without this feeling.
But…he wouldn’t let the fear consume him any longer.
Life was supposed to be filled with happiness, so from now on Leonidas would only focus on the joy that coloured his world and so, feeling a sincere gratitude in his heart, Leonidas hugged Mika. Barely making it above her waist, Leonidas looked upwards into her eyes and gleefully remarked, “I’m going to score another one too! Just watch!”
A bit surprised as she felt the young boy wrap his arms around her waist, Mika’s eyes widened as she looked downwards at Leonidas’s long green locks. In the short time that they had known each other, the small boy in front of her was changing right before her eyes. How could she just stay in the same, static position while everyone around her was moving forward? If she wanted to find the answers to all of her questions, she needed to keep pushing forward, to keep climbing and to keep winning!
So what did Mika need to do right now?
For once, free of her usual complicated thoughts, the only thing in Mika’s mind right now was one thing.
“I want to score.”
Realising her blossoming desire, Mika looked down at Leonidas who had begun to unwrap his arms as he readied to get back into his position and gave him a small smile.
“I’ll be doing my best to score as well in the remaining time so it seems I’ll be having some friendly competition as well then? I look forward to the challenge, Leo-kun.”
“Ah! Er– Hmmm.”
Not realising she was teasing him, Leonidas’s ears drooped contemplatively causing Mika to laugh with the faintest trace of mirth in her voice before telling him to get moving as she saw the referee lift up his whistle to his mouth.
Mika watched Leonidas run back to their side of the field and she began to jog slowly behind while considering Raimon’s options. Leonidas’s newfound confidence and hissatsu would certainly be a boon to Raimon’s attacking opportunities, but she doubted that Hakuren would just roll over and allow them to be overtaken without fighting tooth and nail…
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There was no time for thinking anymore!
“Serika!”
“Got it!”
Feeling the ball land securely against her foot, Mika took a glance at Ryoga who was still waiting centrefield and decided in an instant to keep pressing forward. To her surprise however, despite the distance between them she was surprised to see Ryoga call forth the giant king of ice once more.
Sigh of the Frozen King!
Judging that it was too far to make a difference, Mika continued to race forward unperturbed and got into position to shoot with ‘Pandora’s Box’ when she felt two bodies come from behind her and steal the ball before she could react.
“What?”
“Hehe!” cried out the twins in unison.
“Sorry Demon Queen!”
“Captain-san’s hissatsu isn’t that simple! Anyone in the effect radius of the ‘Frozen King’s Sigh’ must pay their respects to the king of ice!”
Unsure of what the two Hakuren players were talking about, Mika looked down at her feet which had frozen over without her knowing and realised too late…
“A movement speed debuff…”
“Tsukishiro-nee!” cried out Masaru while sending the ball up to the waiting white-haired teen.
However, drowning out Masaru’s call, Ryoga, who was gritting his teeth and looking down at the ground, opened his mouth to let out a roar. As much as it hurt his pride, he had only become ever more cognizant of the roles he and Tsukishiro played and so his hopes of winning were resting on their ace striker’s shoulders right now…
“TSUKISHIRO!!! SCORE YOU DAMN BITCH!”
Laughing bemusedly, Tsukishiro accepted the ball gracefully and turned to the other Hakuren players beside her.
“If Ryo-chan is begging like that, then it seems I don’t have a choice do I? Come on my cuties! Let’s go~”
With a pleased expression on her face, there wasn’t a single hint of stress on Tsukishiro’s face despite having their ‘toxic glacier defence’ broken only a few short minutes ago. Dancing her way across the field with enchanting dribbles, she led the Hakuren offence once more through Raimon territory with long strides like a deer prancing through a tranquil forest.
“Afuro-san!!”
Though Kenji was the most diligent in analysing enemy formations and tactics on the Raimon team, as for on the field, where quick decision making was required he had no choice but to admit that Serika far outclassed him. And so, unsure of what to do, he yelled out to the blonde captain as the Hakuren offence continued to move without hesitation under Tsukishiro’s coordination. To his surprise however, Serika opened and closed her mouth like a fish and no sound came out of her mouth.
“I-I…”
Dang it! There wasn’t any time anymore! With Hakuren midfielder Darika Tamenaga now on top of him, Kenji hurriedly began to write equations in a rushed attempt to calculate her trajectory.
DEFENCE EQUATION!!
“S-Souji-san!”
Nodding her head after receiving the smooth back pass, the two Hakuren girls got past Kenji with little trouble and looked for Tsukishiro’s signal. It was shocking that Raimon had actually managed to get past Katata-senpai so now was the time to make sure they did their part and scored!
Unbeknownst to them, while Raimon’s defensive coordination had all but collapsed without Serika’s usual commands, Galahad had been tracking down the movements of every Hakuren member on their side of the field without fail.
This was a critical turning point of the game, and with time running out whoever scored the next goal would turn the flow of the match in their favour. Raimon had no room for error now and Hiroaki’s words flowed in his mind.
“What’s most important for a defender, especially a centerback like you, Galahad-kun, is to always be reading where the game is going, and being conscious of where the ball is as well as the attackers and your own teammates. As the centerback, while you aren’t the playmaker you’re still the player that establishes from where a play is going to begin, making your role the most important among the defenders''
Galahad let out a sigh as the gears inside his brain began to turn fast enough, he felt his head was beginning to steam despite the cold air in the stadium.
“Think, Galahad! Think!”
Just wanting to protect the goal wasn’t enough…
That much was clear to him now.
He didn’t want to let anyone down anymore. Recalling how powerless he was to stop Seiryuu in their match against Eisei Gakuen, Galahad’s eyes zoomed in on the players that had entered Raimon’s defensive third of the field.
Retsuto-san was approaching from left field with Takeaki-san hot on her heels.
Or was it Souji-san coming in from centre-right for an ‘Ice Tornado’?
No.
None of that was right.
Galahad took in a deep breath to reset his breathing, and thought back to his conversation with Daigiichi during the training camp.
“How do I know where to position myself? Uhhhhh….”
Scratching his head, Daigiichi’s face scrunched up painfully, not used to having to explain his actions aloud and stuck his tongue out as if that would help him think.
“It’s just sortof like baboosh baboom! Sometimes the image isn’t as clear I guess…and things can look more messy but if you pay attention then there’s only one area that goes BABABOOOM compared to the areas that are just pew pew I think?”
The area that was most ‘bababoom’ right now….
Think, think, think! The difference between his and Ryoga’s ability to coordinate their defensive line was stark and if he didn’t act fast then it would just be a repeat of the first ten minutes of the match. There was no time for hesitation and yet Galahad still found himself unable to make a decision.
“Come on Naoki! Let’s move~”
Watching from the right, Galahad looked on as Nariko and Naoki made a move to intercept Souji-san who was currently in possession of the ball.
No…
That wasn’t right at all!
“Yamashiro-senpai! Naoki-senpai! STOP! Lock on Tsukishiro-san! NOW!!”
“What?! Are you crazy?! That b*ich hasn’t moved up at all since the first goal? Why would we–?”
Unable to contain his impatience anymore, Galahad felt a vein burst and he bellowed out urgently,
“SHUT UP AND DO IT!!”
‘Come on, come on, come on!’ thought Galahad internally as his thoughts continued to race in his head before he could even stop to process any of them.
Spinning around he made a motion with his fingers to Hyun-Ki to get the Raimon keeper to pull up…
Phew
Everything was in place now…
Hup
“Captain!”
Galahad watched as Tsukishiro appeared out of nowhere just as he had predicted, and received the lob from her teammate fluidly and was about to transition fluently into a shoot when Nariko and Naoki appeared before her.
Circling around her, Naoki ran outwards in three concentric circles with each of his movements causing more and more thick vines to break through the ground and surround the Hakuren striker. Meanwhile, Nariko let herself be drawn in by the vines and disappeared, turning her body into a shower of purple and pink flower blossoms that swirled in the centre of the forest where Tsukishiro was standing.
GARDEN OF EDEN~
Fufufu.
Still closing her eyes, Tsukishiro maintained her mischievous smile and tapped her foot on the ball once while her body began to dissolve into pure white snowflakes.
“Sorry cuties~ I might be a lady but that doesn’t mean I have to like flowers!”
Rematerializing on the left corner of the danger zone, Tsukishiro’s lips curled up as she saw Hyun-Ki much too far forward to block her next shoot.
“Hmm. You still have a lot to learn I see, babies~~ When your goalie’s out, it’s just too easy to do this !”
Giving the ball a sharp chip instep kick, Tsukishiro put her right hand above her eyes to follow the path of the ball as it looped over Hyun-Ki’s head towards the goal.
“Huh?”
Just as the ball was beginning to arc over Hyun-Ki’s head, Tsukishiro watched expressionlessly as a shadow overtook the ball and secured it gently.
“Oh~~ puppy-kun?”
Galahad looked at Tsukishiro with a solemn expression and rushed past her before she could move to stop him.
“You were arrogant Tsukishiro-san…”
Not caring what expression was on the other girl’s face, Galahad quickly scanned upfield looking for Raimon’s ace striker.
He wouldn’t let his indecision make his friends suffer again…
While Galahad didn’t completely understand the complex intricacies behind Project Mars or even understand the desire to become the top football team in the nation, as he looked at the girl who was currently racing towards Hakuren’s goal, trusting he would connect the ball to her, he knew one thing.
Just as Mika had helped him, right now, Galahad wanted to help the girl who seemed determined to suffer in silence.
Refusing to ask for help…
Refusing to show weakness…
With his sincere wishes for her happiness, Galahad had wondered during the training camp how he could convey his feelings for the girl who seemed to hide from the world behind a mask of detachment.
And tell her…
That she could rely on him.
Shadow Link!
Wrapping his right foot in a mass of dark tendrils, the shadows melted together to form a small dog with three heads. Then, cracking the ground below him with his foot, the middle head of the shadowy dog held the ball tightly in its maw before jumping into the dark hole created by Galahad. Hopping across the field, the shadowy dog continued to melt like a black tear into the puddles of darkness that formed behind the various Hakuren and Raimon players until the dog finally made its way from behind Ryoga’s shadow. Barking once, the three-headed dog shot out from the final shadow before vanishing out of existence in front of Mika leaving the ball bouncing in front of her.
Wasting no time, Mika vowed to make good use of the opportunity Galahad had created for her with his new pass hissatsu.
PANDORA’S BOX V2!!!
CRYSTAL BARRIER!
“ERRRGGGGGHHH!!!!”
Struggling from the weight of the shoot, Ren tightened his left hand’s hold on his right arm as the snowflake began to show tiny cracks in its centre.
No!
Not after all this training!! Ever since their defeat to Eisei Gakuen in the semi-finals he had sworn to perfect a hissatsu that no one would ever break! Even Seiryuu!
“ARGGGGGGGGGH!!”
Ren’s ‘Crystal Barrier’ broke into small fragments as he let out one final roar, but wrapping his arm in the remaining pieces and using the last of his strength, he managed to somehow punch the ball away from the goal in an effort to clear it.
“Nice assist Mika!” shouted a voice from the side of the field.
Looking to where the voice came from, Ren’s eyes widened with horror as he saw the black-haired midfielder from Raimon, Makoto Rikitake intercept the ball before it could clear out of bounds. Lifting his right foot up, Makoto let out a wild yell as ice quickly spread across the field.
Freeze Shot!
[GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!! Raimon’s Makoto Rikitake lets Raimon take the lead for the first time in this game with the score now 2-1 in their favour!! What a close match between these two teams! With only 5 minutes remaining, will Raimon be able to maintain their lead?]
WOOHOO! That’s what I’m talking about baby!
Sticking his tongue out, Makoto waved with both arms to the crowds and sent out kisses smugly as he paraded around the field before being approached by Mika who ran up to him.
“Thank you for the recovery Rikitake-senpai…If you hadn’t been there, the match would still be tied. I apologise for my inadequacy…”
“What are you talking about Kuroha-san? If you hadn’t set up the ball for me, the goal would never have been possible! Don’t worry too much about the process and just focus on the result. That’s what your teammates are here for after all!”
Then turning to Sadao and Gabriel who had gone up to congratulate him, Makoto turned away from Mika whose face was still rather downcast after failing to score with her own hissatsu.
“Nice assist Mika! You’ll get him next time for sure!”
“Oh…Galahad…”
Noticing her gloomy disposition, Galahad looked at Mika’s darkened face and with furrowed brows asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“I…”
“I…wasted your chance. I’m truly sorry…Even though you trusted me to score, I failed…”
“Is that what you’re worried about? It’s okay! It’s like Rikitake-senpai said! The only thing that matters is the result anyway so it’s all good.”
However, upon hearing his words Mika head whipped around and with clear anxiety mixed into her voice she replied,
“It most certainly is not ‘all good’! From here on, the teams we face are only going to continue to get stronger! If we want to win, I need to score and if I can’t even do that now then what are we supposed to do when we fight either Zeus or Susanoo in the Semi-finals! And in the finals we’ll most assuredly be fighting Eisei Gakuen and what will we do then? I can’t just let Leo-kun bear that burden by himself….and it just…”
Clenching her chest with frustration, Mika turned her head away from Galahad’s piercing eyes and in a quieter voice continued, “I apologise for losing my composure. Please forget you heard anything…” And with that, began to jog back to the middle of the field in haste.
“Wait! Mika!”
Tweet Tweet Tweet
Galahad reached out with his arm in a futile attempt to call back the striker as the whistle interrupted the two’s conversation.
Why did it always seem like the two of them were being interrupted when something important came up?
Hearing Gabriel call him back to his position however, Galahad looked in vain at Mika once more before running back to centrefield where he was needed.
5 Minutes Later
Huff Huff Huff
[AND THAT’S THE MATCH!!! RAIMON WINS 2-1 AND WILL BE MOVING ONTO THE SEMIFINALS AGAINST EITHER ZEUS OR SUSANOO ACADEMY NEXT WEEK! STAY TUNED AND WE’LL SEE YOU HERE TOMORROW FOR THE SECOND SET OF QUARTERFINAL MATCHES!]
Why?
Mika looked at the Hakuren goal that had just been vacated by the disappointed goalkeeper Ren Ikuma, and stared at it in silence.
Raimon had won but why?
Why was she so…
So frustrated?
Even though Mika knew what everyone else had told her was factually correct, and that as long as they achieved victory the match itself didn’t matter but that…that just didn’t seem right. Seiryuu had said that if she wanted to find an answer then to keep winning but even though they had won…why did it still seem like a loss?
“Nice match Mimi-chan~”
“Tsukishiro-san.”
Eyes emotionless, Mika gazed back at the Hakuren captain who had gotten her jacket from the bench and walked back onto the field where Mika was now the only one left standing. Continuing to stare at Tsukishiro, Mika felt the tightness in her heart become increasingly severe. Not only had Mika failed to score once in this match, but Tsukishiro had never even used ‘Yuki-onno no Mai’, her strongest hissatsu…
“Why…Why didn’t you use ‘Yuki-onno no Mai’ to shoot when you had the chance?”
“Hmm…”
Tsukishiro tapped her lower lip with her index finger thoughtfully as she attempted to come up with a response that would sate Mika’s demanding question.
“I didn’t want to?”
“Tsukishiro-san!”
Tsk…
Clicking her tongue, Tsukishiro’s eyes narrowed unhappily,
“I thought I told you to call me Tsuki-nee?”
“...”
Eyes unwavering, Mika’s mouth remained closed as her purple amethysts stared piercingly at Tsukishiro’s ever-present smile forcing the Hakuren captain to sigh and open her mouth to try answering again.
“I’m being honest, you know Mimi-chan! Puppy-kun really got me with that mean little trick of his humph ! Besides, if you’re really unsatisfied then I hope you haven’t forgotten there’s still 2 more teams in your way before you can claim the title of the Holy Road Champions Mimi-chan~”
Sigh
“...Fine. Then if we win and become the holy road champions…we’ll have to play another match Tsukishiro-sa–”
However, unable to finish the sentence due to Tsukishiro’s pitiful face, Mika corrected herself,
“Tsukishiro-nee…”
“Sure Mimi-chan! It’s a promise then! Teehee~”
Satisfied that this was the best she would get out of the Hakuren captain, Mika began to walk towards Aphrodi who was waving her over to get on the bus when Tsukishiro’s voice dropped and in a low tone whispered into her ear before she could leave.
“Oh…and Mimi-chan. I do hope you can introduce me to your friend next time too, okay?”
“??”
Turning her head in bewilderment, she was too late and Tsukishiro had already disappeared leaving Mika by herself in the stadium with the scoreboard behind her.
[Hakuren 1 - Raimon 2 ]