13. TEAM V

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TODAY

is the deciding match. (Yes, you are aware that you've previously said this before for the match against Team Y, but it's even more serious this time). You are one player down—with Kuon's assigned role just him standing in the corner—and this match, if you lose, you will all be packing your bags, with the sole exception of the traitor. The thought of that leaves a bittersweet feeling in your chest, and you try your hardest to wrack your brain away from those thoughts.

You wouldn't lose. They won't lose. They can't lose.

Today, you denied help with carrying your bag. Today, you decided that you would just do it yourself—even though the offer coming from the team's designated feral boy was rather tempting, as your shoulders had begun to hurt—because you didn't want to take any of their minds off the game. This was so unbelievably important to all of you—that you felt a little sick just thinking about their team.

But you know that they're all just as nervous as you are. You can see it very well. In fact, they all looked as if they hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night—something you mentally noted to talk about after everything—and were all sweating like they were already on the field. But you didn't say anything—I mean, what could you say?—in light of the recent events of you and that snow-haired boy, and that purple-haired guy.

Stepping onto the green field felt like entering a whole new dimension. The bright lights burned into your retinas, and the smell of new soccer ball leather wafted into your nose. You could almost say you missed it—almost. You didn't even take a glance at Team V, or their manager by extension, as you slumped your bag down onto the seat and rushed over for a quick team meeting pre-game.

You point over to Team V discreetly, where you catch a glimpse of brown hair and your stomach twists. However, you don't let this show in your expression—and you keep an aloof face while you speak, "Nagi relies a lot on that purple boy. He's a lazy person by default, so it'll probably translate here too. To cut off Nagi, you need to snip his lifeline."

A chorus of agreements follows your statement, and you only wish them good luck under your breath while they run onto the field, some visibly less enthusiastic than others.

You take your seat in absolute, dreadful silence, gaze completely directed at the timer that counted down painfully slow. Three more seconds before the whistle blows—and the atmosphere feels more and more tense with each one that passes by.

The whistle blows, and Nagi immediately passes to Reo. Reo runs into Team Z's half of the field, barely over the separating line before he's blocked by both Isagi and Bachira, forcing him to pass. The ball lands at Zantetsu's feet, catching it with his left foot. He quickly runs at an angle in the direction of your goal—but is also blocked by Raichi and Naruhaya. Zantetsu, just as expected, kicks the ball over to Nagi, who is jogging painfully slowly while Igaguri head-shots the ball and steals it into Z's possession.

Our strategy of pressing them and forcing them to pass where we want them to is doing good so far.

The ball lands at Isagi's feet, and the jet-black-haired boy gives the monk a thankful look, passing it over to Bachira. You grip the velvet fabric of your pants and lean forward—thoroughly enamoured with their plays—with pointed brows. This is it. This is what we practised. 

You chew down on the inside of your cheek as Gagamaru dives for the ball, using his head to slam it forward to the goal.

The ball flies off the top railing of the goal, and your hope instantly dies down. The goalie catches it in his arms, and without thinking, you stand up and cup your hands around your mouth, "ONE MORE TIME!"

Team V's eyes turn to you in surprise—or confusion, you can't be sure—but you pointedly ignore them to focus on Gagamaru, who looks you dead in the eye when he stands up and nods silently. He turns his head away, but you still nod back, taking a seat and bouncing your heels eagerly.

But you are still left surprised when their purple-haired conductor—Reo—starts laughing, and rushes up to Nagi, with an all-too-wide grin, slaps his friend on the back, "What a play! This got interesting! Hey Nagi, let's try that move!"

Nagi moves away from his friend's face and hangs his head low, letting out a deep sigh, "Eh... sounds like a real hassle..."

Reo—back in his original position—catches the ball between his feet, and when the whistle blows, he pelts it across the field, just like you all did before. You watch with wide eyes as Nagi leaps up into the air and stretches his leg out, catching the ball with minimal effort in what should've been an impossible move. He sends it flying past Iemon's head and into the net—his usual, disdained expression still flat on his face.

Your jaw drops as soon as he turns around, muttering something to your teammates that makes them all collectively gasp in shock. This boy—Nagi Seishiro—was so unbelievably nonchalant about that shot that he pulled off that should be close to impossible. And the funny thing was—none of his teammates was surprised either—like they were used to such incredible feats from him. Reo runs up to Nagi and engulfs him in a side hug, laughing and grinning.

You don't look over when Kyouka—a bag between the two of you acting as a barrier—speaks, voice just as quiet and timid as you remember, "Nagi really is amazing."

You grip the velvety fabric of your pants and you unclench your jaw. Voice monotone and bland, you say, "He is." You don't get to see the way she stares at you with a look of hurt, nor the way she hangs her head low and keeps her eyes to the ground after that.

The ball is passed to Kunigami, and he runs towards his desired spot to shoot the goal. His intense mid-field shot is certainly a force to be reckoned with—and it looks like Team V is aware of this fact because Reo immediately jumps in as soon as he's about to get within his range. He skillfully maneuvers the ball away, dodging each attempt Kunigami makes at grabbing onto him and dribbling it away—tossing it over your team's heads and to Nagi.

Nagi props the ball up, kicking it high with his foot and Igaguri jumps for it—only to be met with nothing, as Nagi flips backwards on his heel and shoots the ball behind him, landing from a somersault onto his feet and steading himself. Raichi growls, eyes twitching and face contorted in anger as he stomps up to Kunigami and grabs him by his shirt—tugging him forward—while sneering.

Kunigami's brows furrow and he says something back with just as much aggression, fists balling up. Isagi quickly breaks them up before either gets a yellow card, and Raichi scoffs, lightly shoving the other boy away and turning on his heel. 

You bite down on the inside of your cheek, eyes darting from player to player. Isagi passes the ball to Chigiri, and seeing him dart across the field gives you a small sliver of hope. The ignition in your chest deflates as soon as it lights, however, as Zantetsu—coming out of where your eyes could not see—runs alongside Chigiri (perhaps even faster) effortlessly and tosses the ball back over to Reo.

He's even faster than Chigiri? How? Your heartbeat noticeably fastens in your chest and panic settles deep within your mind. If he's faster... you think, then so many options become nonexistent. 

Everybody falls back to cover Nagi—forgetting about the other striker dashing beside Reo. He smiles, passing the ball over to Zantetsu, and with a shrill sonic boom, the ball flies into the goal. 

Your eyes widen and your lips part, despair welling in your chest. Team V is even more incredible than you had imagined—with strong teamwork, too many plays to limit, and amazing chemistry. You're all mediocre compared to them—and because of that, you'll lose. Your stomach twists and turns and you feel sick at the thought. You don't want to lose.

Your teamwork is getting sloppy. Everybody can see it. They're all panicking, and too focused on one thing or another, to work coherently. You grind your fingernails against your palm and stand up out of your seat, yelling reverberating against your lungs once again, "DON'T STOP NOW! IT'S NOT—"

You abruptly stop when you open your eyes, and see Bachira running across the field—completely alone—and dodging each person that came his way. He twisted himself around Reo and Zantetsu in a dancing-esque motion, stepping across the field in swift movements until he scored, the words GOAL flashing upon the large screen.

You sit back down on the bench, jaw absolutely dropped and pupils wide as you stare at Bachira, awestruck by how amazing he just was. Kyouka seemed to have the same reaction as you did, palms pressed against her cheeks and mouth wide open like a fish. She turned to you—either unbothered or unaware of the awkward tension that still surrounded you both—and stared up at you in shock, "That number 8... he did all that by himself!"

You glance her way, and seeing that utterly transfixed expression makes your mouth feel dry—but you look away, and charm her with an answer, "He... is amazing. Bachira..." You press your lips tightly together, and they curl up into a smile. Bachira—you're a good boy for getting the team all hyped up with an incredible goal... I'll have to remember to give you a head pat after this.

It seems that—inspired by the true awesomeness of Bachira—they've come up with a new plan. Raichi moves from his defensive goal position to mark Reo—wrapping his arm around his side to limit his mobility. Reo seems to panic and send an emergency pass to Zantetsu, who catches it with his chest and runs. Chigiri follows closely after, but is unable to keep up with the glasses-wearer's sonic speed, and opts instead to dive his leg where he's trying to pass. It forces Zantetsu to make a sloppy pass, but it still ends up getting to Nagi anyway.

The snow-haired boy winds up for a kick, but it is ultimately slowed down by Igaguri's face, and you have to hide your smile when he flies backwards (soz guys i just. hate that thing.), the ball lands in Bachira's possession. He giggles and you're sure he says a smart quip—because it is Bachira, after all—before he passes over to Kunigami. The muscular boy runs towards his desired shooting range, and even though he's still a good few metres away from where his chances of making it skyrocket, he still goes in for the kill. With a completely uncurved ball, that swung away from the goalie's arms at the last second and blasted into the net.

The half-time whistle blows, and you find yourself back in the locker room. As soon as you set your bag down, you rush over to Bachira, hands reaching up and rubbing at his hair.

"Bachira!!!" You cheer, and he laughs as you mess up his bangs, revelling in your affection. "You were incredible! Your skills are out of this world!"

"Awww, shucks, you got me blushin'!" He giggles, patting down his hair when your hand leaves his head. You quickly turn to Kunigami and bound up and down on your heels, fists balled and pumped up.

"That shot was an outstanding feat—it was very much outside of your range, and we've never practised it!"

"Yeah! Why didn't you tell us you had an amazing, no-speed mid-range shot?! You're a true superhero, muscle boy!"

Kunigami flexes his hands out and gives you a grin, sipping from the bottle that you had handed him before speaking, "No. I just focused on how I made contact with the ball. Moreso than usual. When I scored that goal, though, I felt something new."

Laughter surrounds you all, and Kunigami gets slapped on the back a few times by Igaguri. You feel your lips stretch up, and you laugh along, a new spark of excitement for what is to come.

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