Moonlight Drop!
[AND YET ANOTHER GOAL BY ZEUS!!! Selene Otsuki scores with 'Moonlight Drop' extending Zeus's lead over Raimon to two points only minutes into the second half! It seems Zeus's decision to switch tactics is paying off in spades!]
Mika looked at the net urgently hearing the announcer declare the goal and put her hands on her waist to recover her breath.
If Zeus was allowed to score even one more goal then it would be almost impossible to make a comeback at that point. Mika wasn't completely certain of what was happening but ever since Khronoa had declared the start of 'Titanomakhia' she hadn't been able to connect to her teammates at all, as if they had been effectively cut off from her. Every time Raimon managed to get the ball, Zeus would immediately steal it back before they could make a single move and Raimon was forced to play on the defensive once again.
Knowing they would need to break down 'Titanomakhia' if they wanted to win, Mika slowed down to a jog so she could track the path of the ball more clearly and her eyes followed it closely to the where it was now in the possession of Galahad.
Seeing him motion to her with his eyes, she began to speed up as shadows wrapped around his foot and formed a black hole that the 3 headed dog he had created jumped into.
Shadow Link!
Hissatsu Tactics : TITANOMAKHIA!
Squinting her eyes to block out the wave of dust that had been called forth, Mika vaguely managed to make out the form of the black dog that was holding the ball in its middle maw until...
Boom
Blasted by a bolt of orange lightning, the shadowy dog whimpered for a few seconds before melting into a black puddle while the bolt of lightning disappeared again in the storm.
That was it.
She knew what was happening now.
Mika knew who Raimon needed.
"Serika!"
GARDEN OF EDEN~
Having no time to pay attention as Galahad and the other defenders were desperately keeping the Zeus members off their goal, Mika looked for the platinum-blond midfielder who had kept an abnormally low profile in the match thus far.
Grabbing Serika's hand urgently, Mika looked her in the eyes and spoke frantically as the clock continued to tick on their match.
"It's a lopsided high press tactic! Zeus is utilising Khronoa to apply pressure high in the left hand side of the field while their midfielders and defenders are closing up any gaps behind her so they can overload us before we have any time to think!"
Serika's pink eyes blinked like a deer caught in the headlights, unaccustomed to this type of intensity from Mika, and she opened her mouth without a sound.
Unsure of why Serika was opening her mouth but not making any words, Mika continued to speak while trying to resist the urge to shake the other girl's shoulders.
"We need your 'Divine Revelation'! It's the only way we can break through 'Titanomakhia'. We need quick one touch passes to connect us before Zeus can break our pass path. There's no time to waste Serika! Let's go!"
Not bothering to look behind her, Mika raced ahead first while Serika followed behind more slowly, dragging each of her steps.
What was wrong with her?
This wasn't like her at all...
"Mika, what did I tell you about hanging out with rabble like this? I've told you before there's no need to associate yourself with people of no use to you..."
Even though it had happened over seven years ago, Serika could still remember the cold, ice-blue eyes of Mika's mother and the harsh words that had been uttered to her as clear as the day it had happened.
Ever since that day, Serika had struggled for so long to improve herself, hone her abilities and perfect her qualities as if she needed to prove to someone that she was worthy of becoming Mika's friend.
And now, finally satisfied with the level of achievements she had accomplished, she made sure to brag about herself in every possible situation so everyone could know just how amazing she was and everyone would agree.
"Serika is so smart! So beautiful!"
"A genius!"
"Slay queen!! Slayyyy!"
"God made a mistake and accidentally allowed an angel to be born on Earth!"
And everything was perfect.
It was all exactly what she had hoped for. Everyone acknowledged her divinity, she had become friends with Mika once again and she had even recruited an army of new servants to amuse her.
But despite all of the physical visualisations by which she could measure and validate herself, she could still hear whispers reminding her that it still wasn't good enough. She needed to be more perfect or else she would never be able to call herself Mika's friend...
She had to prove her worth no matter what!
But despite knowing this...
She kept making mistakes despite doing her best! She didn't even let her guard down and was still completely useless during their match against Hakuren. And the more she tried, the more she became afraid to fail and so while she saw Mika, Leonidas and even that servant boy Galahad all moving forward she felt like she was withering inside.
"Serika!"
Interrupted from her thoughts by Mika's desperate call, Serika closed her eyes and held her breath, paralysed by her own trepidation.
Divine Revelation!
Sensing the connection between her teammates had been forged, Mika expected to see a smooth path of light connecting their teammates together but compared to before the light had become a murky brown and the muddy texture confused the Raimon members, allowing Selene to easily weave her way through their formation and steal the ball back.
Recovering quickly from her disorientation, Mika ran back to Serika who was shaking while grabbing her arms to steady herself.
"Serika? Are you alright? What's wrong?"
"..."
Unable to reply, Serika instead refused to look Mika in the eyes, leaving the two girls standing across from each other on the field.
"Serika?"
"Don't...Don't look at me like that..." cried out Serika in a shaky voice.
"I know I'm not good enough right now but you can't throw me away! I just need one more chance, I can do it!"
Though Serika tried to put on a facade of confidence as she made her declaration, her shaking eyes betrayed her inner turmoil and unaware of where this was coming from Mika asked her in a calm voice.
"What on earth are you talking about Serika? Do I look like someone who would abandon a friend after making one mistake in a match? I would hardly be one to talk, considering how many goals I've missed this season already."
"It's just—"
"I don't..."
Hesitating to finish her sentence, Serika dug deep within her and managed to spit out the bitter truth.
"I don't think I'm as good as I thought I was Mika..."
"..."
Not waiting to hear Mika's response, now that the floodgates were open, Serika's mouth became a motorboat that wasn't going to stop until it had finished everything it wanted to say.
"I've worked so hard to come this far Mika. Every time I wanted to give up, your mother's words were always there to remind me of why I couldn't give in...I knew I had to become smarter, more beautiful, more capable, more perfect and then...
And then you could say proudly that I was your friend...
That's all I wanted Mika...
But nothing ever goes my way!
Now that we're at the national level, I feel so much more unsure of myself even though I always felt like I knew the answer before...
Your mom...
Your mom was right after all Mika."
Giving a small smile to Mika, tears formed at the corners of Serika's eyes and her eyelashes blinked rapidly to attempt to cover them up but they couldn't hide the broken eyes of the girl who could no longer hide her insecurities behind her mask of false bravado.
Having never seen Serika like this before, Mika felt both completely at a loss of what to say and awful that she hadn't taken notice of the heavy burden Serika had felt all this time due to her mothers' words.
Stepping forward, Mika hesitantly reached out her arms and sensing no rejection she gave Serika a rather awkward hug. While at first she was unsure if she was doing it right or not, feeling Serika grip her tightly back, like an octopus hanging on for dear life, Mika figured she was probably doing okay and patted the other girl's back gently.
"Honestly Serika, what do you take me for? Though I may have a physical resemblance to my mother due to our genetic relationship, just because she's my mother doesn't mean we share the same ideals. How can someone simply measure the value of someone's life by trivial aspects such as appearance, status or ability; much less choose friends based on such lacklustre criteria? If that was the case, then no one would be able to become my friend ..."
Brushing Serika's long hair out of her face so she could see her eyes which had now become swollen and red due to excessive crying, Mika sighed before continuing.
"Look at me Serika..."
"If anyone should be blaming themself for perceived inadequacies I would be a much more reasonable target for self-shaming as compared to you. I should have realised how much you were suffering but instead I was too focused on myself to notice how much pressure you were putting on yourself...
Serika Afuro.
I have always been grateful to you for reaching out to me when I was too hesitant to take the first step. You're bold but compassionate and even though you try to hide it, I know how much you care about the team. Why else would I select you as a candidate for captain? It's because I trust you Serika. You're much more capable than you think you are and..."
Taking one step back, Mika held Serika's hands gently and gave her a sincere smile with all of her being.
"I'm really happy to be friends with you."
Blushing to the roots of her hair now, Serika turned away and coughed lightly to hide her embarrassment.
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"H-How can you say something like that so shamelessly you b-baka!"
However, despite saying this, the more she put Mika's words on repeat the redder Serika's face became until she had to rest her hands on her cheeks to cool herself down. Then turning around slowly she asked with a drop of dubiosity,
"You really mean that?"
"Mmm. Really."
"You really think I'm absolutely wonderful, amazing, talented, smart and capable?"
"Mmhmm"
"And you really think I have tenacity, grit and determination?"
"Mmhmm"
"And that I'm beautiful, strong and the best possible captain ever?"
"Mmhmm"
"And God's gift to humanity."
"Serika..."
Filled sufficiently with compliments and ego feeling a tad better now, Serika flicked her hair back and rubbed her eyes once more with the back of her hand to hide the redness and last drops of tears.
A good cry always made her feel refreshed and though she could still hear the inner voices in her head trying to bring her back down, Mika's words overwhelmed any traces of self-doubt that threatened to control her again.
"That's right, I’ve trained with the best and I’m not the same player I used to be! I'm strong, capable and captain of the best team in Japan!!" Serika repeated in her head.
Then facing Mika with renewed conviction, Serika waved her hand to indicate it was time to follow her lead.
"Come on Mika, weren't you the one who said there's no time to waste?"
Seeing Serika's confident smile restored, Mika felt a bit lighter and following behind the blond midfielder she felt a wave of assurance wash over her.
This game was theirs.
"Galahad!"
Galahad heard a familiar voice calling his name, but unused to being referred to by his actual name by the voice he paused until he heard it speak up again with a raised degree of irritation.
"Galahad!! Get your dumb butt into gear this instant or you'll be sorry!"
Reorienting, Galahad felt the connection link up under Serika's guidance and sensing where she wanted him to pass, his legs were moving before he could even stop to think.
DIVINE REVELATION!
Hissatsu Tactics : TITANOMAKHIA!
Hissatsu Tactics : Path of Lightning!
"I don't think so!" cried out Selene as she ran towards the black-haired striker from Raimon who had already scored two goals this match but just as she reached the other girl, she saw a small light green-haired boy she hadn't noticed before, run from behind Mika allowing the two to get by her with ease.
Beast King's Authority!
[GOAAAAAAALLLL! Raimon's Leonidas Tsujo closes the gap from two to one with a powerful shoot that blasts past Zeus's keeper Prometheus before he can even react! It seems that Zeus isn't the only team with a lightning fast offence today! Just how will Zeus deal with this new strategy??]
"Hmph."
Flicking her hair to the side, Serika let out a pompous laugh as she walked over to the others who had gathered around Leonidas to celebrate the goal.
"Hohoho. I knew there was no way Zeus would be able to beat us. We're just too good I suppose."
Rolling her eyes hearing this, Nariko gave a catty look at Serika, who reminded her of a plant that had finally received water after weeks of drought and commented,
"Why don't you wait until after we actually pull ahead genius. We're still a point down with only 20 minutes left on the clock."
Serika gave Nariko a haughty look back and curled her lip upwards before answering,
"You just leave that part to me. We're going to catch up and pull ahead in 10 minutes, no 5!"
Then pulling Galahad aside, Serika whispered a few times in his ear before running back to her place behind Mika as they prepared for Zeus to start the kickoff.
The Pot is Hot!
"Eek!"
Hearing a girl's scream as she got bulldozed over by Gabriel, Galahad knew the older boy had been successful in stealing the ball back and he got ready to send the ball up to Serika as she had ordered him to moments ago.
"Galahad, I got it!"
Galahad ran to shorten the distance between him and Gabriel but as they had expected, Khronoa was already ready and waiting for him, appearing in front of him with a bolt of red lightning.
Divine Revelation
"We're not going to let you repeat that tactic again!" cried Khronoa as Galahad sent the ball flying in an arc towards Serika the moment he saw Khronoa appear.
"Selene!"
"I'm on it, Noa!"
Moon Rabbit's Dash!
Catching up to Serika in two short bounds, Selene gave the blond midfielder a toothy grin as she stood in front, blocking any attempts to get by her.
"Did you really think I would give you enough time to be a linkplayer again? You might have caught us by surprise the last time but you're dreaming if you think I'll let you by again."
However, undaunted, Serika narrowed her eyes so only the slightest glimmers of pink could be seen through them and she bantered back playfully,
"Then I guess I'm dreaming because I'm already through."
"What?"
Snap.
With a crisp snap of her fingers, Serika sent out a wave of light covering the entire world in greytone while all of the movements of the Zeus members finally froze for the first time that match. Walking past Selene effortlessly, Serika snapped her fingers again, retracting the grey light and releasing a tornado behind her.
Heaven's Time
Looking behind her where Serika was already taking advantage of the gap behind their defensive line due to 'Titanomakhia', Selene let out a cry of dismay,
"No way! That's—"
"Rikitake-san!"
"Got it! Tsujo-kun!"
"Mika-nee!"
Door of Origin!
Managing to run back in time by sprinting as quickly as she could, Rhea's blue and pink hair was flying around messily as she summoned a large void to steal back the ball but Mika had already sent the ball behind her to a girl who was surrounded by pure-white wings.
TRUE GOD KNOWS!
Panther Blizzard- Shoot Chain!
Brazen Theft!
"Erghhh..."
Feeling his hand beginning to burn up as he tried to grab onto the spinning ball, Prometheus felt himself falling from the sky as he and the ball were sent flying into the net.
[GOALLL!!! Raimon's Leonidas Tsujo equalises the score with a brilliant assist by captain Serika Afuro! With only 10 minutes remaining in the match, it's down to the wire with the first spot for the finals on the line! Raimon has taken control of the game's momentum but let's see if they can keep it up to the end!]
Pant Pant
Khronoa grabbed her chest painfully as she tried to catch her breath, and felt Selene's worried hand on her back.
"How you holding up Noa? If you're too tired we can sub in..."
"No! No. I'm–"
Khronoa paused to catch her breath once more while she gave Selene a dazed look.
"I'm fine, I can hold on. There's only ten minutes left...and I want to be there to the end."
Wincing as she felt a cramp in her side, Khronoa grabbed her side while Selene gave her a look of concern watching her struggle.
"They're good! Really good! But we've been training too hard to let up now...This is our last Holy Road with the senpais and I know we can win! I just have to...to hold on for a little longer."
Selene looked at Khronoa's weak smile and sighed internally. After running around like a crazy person, chasing after the ball for the entire second half due to 'Titanomakhia', Khronoa must be completely spent but she was still insisting she could do more for the team...
However, rather than scold her...Today, Selene knew how important this match was for Khronoa and so she hid her hands behind her back that were balled into fists and nodded encouragingly,
"Then let's...play soccer!!"
Tweet Tweet Tweet
Sensing the atmosphere had changed in the stadium with both teams filled with desperation to move onto the Holy Road Finals, Khronoa's eyes were deadly focused as she received the light kick from Themis.
Hissatsu Tactics...
TITANOMAKHIA!!!
Sprinting alongside her teammates, the Zeus members quickly overtook Raimon's side of the field and passing quickly amongst each other, Khronoa ran towards the right wing of the penalty area as Selene sent her the final ball that would allow Zeus to achieve victory.
"Noa!!"
Touching the ball to the inside of her foot, Khronoa squinted as she saw the final barrier that was between her and the keeper. Tall and well-built, Galahad struck an imposing figure but she knew she could beat him. About to kick the ball into the air to start 'White Hurricane', Khronoa tripped on her feet as the world began to spin.
"Not now!"
After running around nonstop however for the past 40 minutes, Khronoa was actually the player on the field who had run the most distance in the entire match and had easily run more than the second and third place players combined in the second half. Reaching the utter limit of her endurance now, Galahad split into three as she lost the ability to focus and when she looked down the ball had similarly become five balls to her confusion.
"Just a little more..."
So many people were counting on her...
Digging deeper than she had ever before, Khronoa managed to shake off her confusion and refocused on the ball and the ball alone.
Jumping into the sky, white storm clouds began to cyclone around the field and with a burst of golden light she let out a resoundant shout.
WHITE HURRICANEEE!
Positioning himself to stop the shoot at the last possible moment, Galahad wrapped himself in midnight black armour in preparation.
Total Eclipse Remastered!
"Ugh..."
Feeling cracks begin to form in the armour that was surrounding him, Galahad felt two hands pushing him from behind which quickly became four. Looking backwards he saw Nariko and Naoki had come to support him and was about to comment when she began to shriek at him,
"What are you doing looking at us you idiot! Focus on the ball!"
"Right!"
As the ball began to settle underneath his foot, the trio let out a sigh of relief while Nariko and Naoki collapsed on the ground from exhaustion. Knowing there was no time for that Galahad looked at the field which had become extremely messy due to both teams' losing formation as the members on both were reaching their breaking points.
However the chaotic formations also meant he could do this.
Shadow Link
Hup.
Bouncing the ball off his chest, Leonidas let the ball bounce once more before giving the ball a kick middair to Serika who then passed it swiftly to Makoto, who fortunately was one of the players who had run the least and thus still had a good deal of stamina left.
Hammer of Judgement!
Illusion Ball!
"Kuroha-san! You got this!"
Hup.
Jumping upwards into the air to receive the slightly off-pass, Mika turned her body to shoot when she felt a presence coming in from her right.
Moon Rabbit's Dash!
Pant Pant
Breathing heavily, Selene managed to catch up before Mika could shoot and battling with the other girl the two were focused solely on the ball as each were attempting to take possession of the ball with everything they had.
Managing to slip away at the last moment, Mika turned to her right and was about to begin running when she heard Selene shout,
"You're not getting rid of me that easily!"
While Mika would normally admire the persistence, seeing the girl's foot reaching out to clear the ball instead she began to sweat as the leg that was sliding towards her got closer and closer...
Bam
Seeing a large body get in between the two, Mika looked up and saw Galahad's green eyes staring back at her.
"Galahad? What are you–"
"C'mon Mika! Go!"
Putting aside her confusion as to why the defender was so far up, Mika accepted his words and made the final beeline towards the goal.
Blade of Desolation!
"It's going to miss!" sighed Selene in relief as she cursed the blonde defender who had come out of nowhere to interrupt her tackle.
"Perfect pass Mika!"
TRUE GOD KNOWS!-SHOOT CHAIN!
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[GOAAAAAAAALL!!! AND THAT'S THE MATCH!!! RAIMON MOVES ON TO THE HOLY ROAD FINALS AFTER SUCCESSFULLY TAKING DOWN THE 'MIGHTY GODS OF ZEUS ACADEMY' IN A MATCH WE'LL BE SURE TO REMEMBER! BOTH TEAMS PLAYED WELL BUT RAIMON WAS THE TEAM TO COME OUT ON TOP TODAY!!!! WE'LL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO HOW THEY FARE AGAINST THE WINNER OF THE EISEI VS OUTEI MATCH WHICH HAS ALREADY STARTED IN STADIUM B! THANKS FOR JOINING US TODAY AND WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK TO FIND OUT WHO'LL TAKE THE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE FOR THIS YEAR'S HOLY ROADDDDDDD!!!]
"We did it?" asked Serika in confusion as she read the scoreboard with disbelief.
[Raimon 5 : 4 Zeus]
Collapsing onto the field she felt herself being lifted as soon as she touched the grass.
"We did it!!"
"We won!"
"We're really moving on!"
Walking closer to the Raimon members that had mobbed Mika and Serika after the last goal, even Nariko had a slightly more friendly smile than usual and she asked teasingly,
"I thought someone said we would be all caught up and ahead ten minutes ago...we really cut it close this time."
"Yamashiro-senpai, don't sweat the small details. It was all part of the plan." smirked Serika arrogantly though inside she was crying tears of relief that they had somehow managed to squeak by.
Giving her a small wave to grab her attention, Galahad gave a friendly smile which disgusted Serika and she rolled her eyes when he opened his mouth to speak,
"It was a little strange hearing you call me Galahad, Afuro-san but I'm glad we're past all the 'Servant' business. Those were some great calls today in any case, we'll be counting on you in the finals too!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about Servant Boy so don't get a big head just because you made a few decent plays today. You still have a lot of work left before you become semi-usable!"
Galahad let out a groan hearing Serika back to her usual self and the two continued to bicker while Mika turned around upon feeling a finger tap her shoulder ever so softly.
"Yoshizawa-san?"
Though she vaguely recognised the Zeus 'Saintess', she looked so utterly exhausted with hair flying everywhere in a messy fashion and droopy, bloodshot eyes that it made it hard to recognise her immediately.
"Mmm. Kuroha-san! I just wanted to congratulate you myself for moving on to the finals! It was a really, really fun match so even though we lost, we don't have any regrets! Well...maybe a tiny bit of disappointment but we'll be cheering for you in the finals regardless!"
Then reaching her arms out, she asked for permission with eye contact and seeing Mika nod her head, Khronoa gave her a quick hug before tottering backwards, still dizzy from a lack of oxygen. Rushing to help steady her, Mika thought quietly to herself as Khronoa thanked her.
Overcoming their limits together as a team...
Reaching new heights...
Fighting with everything she had on the field...
"That was a...fun match, Yoshizawa-san."
Smiling back from ear to ear hearing that Mika also had a good time during their match, Khronoa giggled innocently and replied,
"I'm glad you had fun too Kuroha-san!"
"Noa!"
Khronoa turned around hearing her teammates calling for her and she apologised to Mika as she began to unsteadily walk backwards.
"I would talk more Kuroha-san but Prometheus and Selene want to go see the Eisei vs Outei match so we're in a bit of a rush!"
"You're going to watch it now? Are you taking the subway?"
"We would take the subway but since Korishima Stadium is a little out of the way so we'll be taking our team's bus. Why? Did you want to go together?"
"If it's not an inconvenience."
"Of course not! We have plenty of space! Come on, let's hurry though! The match has already started!"
******
Korishima West Soccer Stadium, Eisei vs Outei Semifinal Match
"What in the—"
Unused to seeing Mika at a loss for words like this, Galahad and Serika pushed past her and Khronoa who had entered the stadium first and looked at the scoreboard which read
[Eisei 0 - 3 Outei]
Ignoring the commotion in the stands due to Raimon and Zeus's surprise entrance, Tamaki looked downwards at Seiryuu, who was grabbing his bent knee as he stared daggers at the Outei 'Child of Soccer'.
This was the best Japan had to offer?
This was the best the world had to offer?
While he could tell Seiryuu was different from the other insects that were crawling on the field, he didn't know why the 'Blue Dragon' insisted on playing with the useless dead weights on his team. Didn't he know that playing with garbage would make you garbage too?"
Shaking his head with disappointment, Tamaki smashed the ball on the ground, making it bounce up and shake unsteadily in front of him at the same level as his chest. Giving two swift kicks to the ball in the shape of an X he muttered gently to himself as it and Seiryuu were blasted into the net.
"I suppose this is what they call...an execution?"
[Eisei 0 - 4 Outei]