Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Time seemed to stretch on indefinitely before Shiki finally snapped back to reality. He turned off the faucet, resting his hands on the mirror as he muttered to himself, "Still not good enough..."
"Be careful, or you'll catch a cold," a voice suddenly chimed in.
Shiki jumped in surprise and turned to see Natsumi standing there. "Isn't this the men's restroom?!"
He bolted out of the bathroom, confirming the men's restroom sign before hesitantly returning.
Feigning surprise, Shiki exclaimed, "Wow?! Lady Raimon actually has a habit of entering the men's restroom. Don't worry! I won't tell anyone."
Natsumi ignored his comment and continued, "The match is about to start."
Shiki scratched his head, feeling embarrassed. "Huh? Has time passed so quickly? I'll head back right now."
Just as Shiki stepped out of the restroom, Natsumi spoke up again, "Are you okay?"
Shiki looked at Natsumi, his mouth slightly open but then closed it again. "..."
In the end, he could only brush her off with a casual response, "I'm fine!"
Natsumi wasn't convinced. "Still can't forget what happened in middle school?"
Shiki stared at her, realizing she wasn't going to let it go easily. He finally admitted, "A little..."
"You’re overthinking it too much. Isn’t football supposed to be played for fun?"
"And don’t forget that you’re part of the Raimon Football Team, both now and in the future. I promise that what happened in middle school will never happen again at Raimon Junior High School."
Hearing those words made Shiki feel much better. "Thank you, Natsumi."
---
"Everyone, I'm sorry!! I spoke too harshly just now!!"
"I got too caught up in winning and forgot that football should be about having fun. I'm sorry, Bishan! Sorry everyone!"
As Shiki bowed deeply at ninety degrees, everyone felt too guilty to scold him.
Bishan also resolved himself. "No... Senpai is right; I won’t casually say I want to sit out anymore."
Endou laughed happily. "Let’s all do our best together!"
"Let’s defeat Wild Junior High!!"
"Oh!!!"
The second half of the match began with Wild Junior High kicking off.
Gouma Keita began to describe the situation on the field, "The second half of the match has started, and unexpectedly, Yae has returned to the Forward position after being moved to the backline!"
"Together with Bishan and Goenji as Forwards, could this be a new tactic?"
"Or is it just like last time, with no strategy at all?!"
Mizukawaji utilized his speed, swiftly bringing the ball to the center of Raimon’s field. Max stepped up to block him, but Mizukawaji decisively passed the ball to midfielder Hebikawa.
Hebikawa received the ball and unleashed his special move, "Serpent Shot." The soccer ball seemed alive, slithering like a snake toward the goal. Endou countered with his Hot-Blooded Fist.
Endou blocked the ball and kicked it forward. "Bishan, Goenji, let’s go! Up!"
Bishan and Goenji jumped into action.
"Don’t look down! Don’t look down!" Bishan kept reminding himself, but humans are like that; the more you say it, the more you want to look. Just before reaching the highest point, Bishan couldn’t resist the temptation and glanced at the ground.
Failure!
After several setbacks, the ball returned once again to Bishan and Goenji's feet. They attempted their High Altitude Thunder Strike Shot once more.
Failure!!
Max intercepted Eagle's pass and kicked it towards Bishan and Goenji.
Another failure!!!
After countless attempts, only eighteen minutes remained in the match. Wild Junior High intensified their offense at this moment.
"Taishan Divine Kick!"
"Hot-Blooded Fist!"
"Diving Eagle!"
"Hot-Blooded Fist!"
After numerous blocks, Endou's hands had long lost any feeling. He painfully clutched his fist. Despite his hands being covered in bruises, he gritted his teeth to keep from crying out.
But at that moment, Mizukawaji rushed forward and took a shot at the ball that had not yet entered the goal. Endou's hands, weary from catching for so long, were temporarily unable to lift.
"Don't even think about scoring!!"
With that, Endou headed the ball away.
"Endou!!"
"Honestly, I won't let you take the ball."
"Heaven's Gate!"
It was Shiki, who had broken free from three players of Wild Junior High and was now rushing back.
Seeing the soccer ball at Shiki's feet, Wild Junior High looked somewhat stunned.
Shiki quickly scanned the field. "All midfield defenders, assist Endou Mamoru in goal. Leave the offense to me, Goenji, and Bishan."
Then Shiki took off with the ball towards the opposite side of the field.
"Bishan!!"
Bishan was surrounded by two players and couldn't jump.
"Tsk, can't do it..."
Shiki decisively abandoned the play with Bishan and shifted to a combination with Goenji. "Goenji, let's go together."
"Got it!"
Shiki and Goenji jumped simultaneously. Just as Shiki was about to kick Goenji higher, Jijing appeared from behind Goenji.
His astonishing jumping ability easily surpassed both Shiki and Goenji.
But there was still a chance; if Shiki could successfully kick Goenji into the air, they could break through Wild Junior High's defense.
Unfortunately, they failed.
The success rate of Shiki and Goenji's combination was already low, and Jijing's close marking significantly decreased their chances.
The two fell heavily to the ground.
"Ugh!"
"Ugh..."
"Yae!" "Yae-san!!!" "Senior Yae!"
"Goenji-kun!!!" "Gouenji-senpai!"
The managers outside exclaimed in surprise.
Jijing smugly said, "Good thing I was guarding you!"
"You guys jumped higher than I expected. If it were anyone else from Wild Junior High, they probably wouldn't be able to contain you!"
"Hehehe, I don't know what tricks you're trying to pull, but it's already impossible for you to succeed."
"I will keep my eyes on Goenji, while that player Yae over there will be surrounded by three defenders."
Jijing pointed at Bishan. "He's just a distraction, right? The real attackers are only you two; I've seen through it all."
Shiki quickly got up and snatched the ball from under Jijing's feet. "Tsk, Heaven's Gate."
As the ball rolled to Shiki's feet, he called out, "Cloud Piercer..."
Thunder rumbled in the background as the Lion King of Wild Junior High curled up and rolled forward.
"Damn!!!"
Shiki was originally going to roll aside, but suddenly seemed to think of something and intentionally took the full impact from the Lion King.
He was knocked out of bounds by the force of the collision.
As the thick smoke cleared, Shiki lay on the ground, clutching his ankle.
"Yae!"
The members of Raimon helped Yae to the sidelines, observing her injuries.
Shiki waved his hand dismissively. "Alright, stop looking; I'm just pretending."
Endou asked in confusion, "Why are you pretending to be injured, Yae?"
"Isn't it because someone got hurt and didn't say anything?"
Without hesitation, Shiki yanked off Endou's gloves.
Endou's hands were already covered in scars and swelling.
"Miki, please help Endou with some ointment."
"I'm fine, Yae. Look," Endou insisted.
Yae then gave a firm slap to Endou's hand.
Endou immediately switched to silent mode.
"Who here has goalkeeping experience?"
Endou, accepting Miki's ointment treatment, asked in confusion, "Yae?"
"Endou can't guard the goal in his current condition; we need someone with goalkeeping experience."
Endou protested, "Wait a minute..."
"That's my position. I will defend the goal properly."
Shiki looked at Endou seriously and said, "Even if it means conceding goals?"
Endou met his gaze and replied earnestly, "I won't let that happen."
"..."
Kazemaru spoke up, "Yae, you just said that all the midfielders and defenders went to help Endou Mamoru at the goal, right?"
Shiki looked at Kazemaru, "Could it be??" He pondered for a moment, stroking his chin. "Interesting..."
"Then it's settled." Shiki shared his tactical plan with everyone. "We don't have much stoppage time, so I'll be quick."
Shiki turned to Goenji, "Goenji, you and I are the key players now."
"You need to keep Jijing occupied while I'll find a way to hold off a few others."
"The main thing is positioning; we absolutely cannot let Jijing come over here."
"You need to keep him on the right side while I tie up some players on the left."
Endou looked puzzled, "Why is that?"
Shiki deliberately kept them in suspense, "You'll find out soon enough, Endou."
"If we can keep their attention on me and Goenji, we'll have a chance to win."
Next, Shiki turned his gaze to Bishan, "And now it's your turn, Bishan. This time your special move must succeed."
Bishan nodded vigorously.
"As for defense," Shiki looked at Kazemaru and the others, "I'll leave that to you."
"All midfielders and defenders."
"If one person can't hold them off, then two will."
"If two can't do it, then three will."
Mokkin spoke up at that moment, "This is a zone pressing defense, but..."
Shiki nodded, "I know what you're going to say; this will require a lot of stamina, right?"
"And everyone has already expended a lot of energy in the first half for defense."
"But please hold on; I won't be able to return to help in the back this time."
"You all will be Raimon's last line of defense."
After saying that, Shiki clapped his hands together. "Alright, let's take our positions!"
"We're going to take down Wild Junior High."
As Raimon returned to the field, Gouma Keita continued his report. "Player Yae has been checked and is fine, so he will still take the field."
"However!!"
"Raimon Junior High School has deployed a rather strange lineup this time."
"Only Yae, Bishan, and Goenji are at the front."
"Meanwhile, Kazemaru, Shaolin Temple, and all the midfielders and Defenders are concentrated in front of the Penalty Area."
The match began with a kickoff from Wild Junior High.
Mizukawaji took the ball and charged towards Raimon's Penalty Area at high speed.
"In terms of speed, I won't lose!!"
At that moment, Kazemaru dashed forward and intercepted Mizukawaji's ball.
"Kazemaru, over here!"
"Yae!!"
As Kazemaru shouted, he kicked a long pass.
Shiki jumped up and received the ball with his chest.
As he landed, the three players from Wild Junior High immediately surrounded Shiki.
They mocked, "Hehe, how foolish! The player with the ball can't move, so there's no way to score."
Shiki laughed, "That only applies if I can't move!"
Hearing this, Goenji instantly understood Shiki's intention.
"Bishan, jump!"
Both Goenji and Bishan leaped high into the air, and although Jijing was confused, he followed suit.
Shiki lifted the ball and struck it powerfully; it soared straight up into the sky.
Following this, Shiki jumped as well.
Seeing Shiki leap, the players from Wild Junior High also jumped up.
At that moment, Shiki suddenly spoke: "If you want to defend against Goenji, you'll have to rely on Jijing. As long as Jijing is not there, you won't be able to surpass me in the air."
Indeed, with the strongest jumping ability, Jijing was guarding Goenji. The others couldn't even jump higher than Shiki, most of them only matching his height.
But those who jumped late would always be shorter than Shiki.
【Sagittarius Bow.】
The arrow flew higher into the sky, but its destination was empty.
Bishan shouted, "We must succeed!!!"
'If...'
'If you're afraid of the ground, just look up at the sky.'
At that moment, Bishan had a sudden inspiration and immediately lifted his belly, transforming into a new springboard that sent Goenji soaring to greater heights.
As a result, Goenji made contact with the ball.
Jijing gasped, "What!!"
"High Altitude Thunder Strike Shot!!"
The original arrow, imbued with the power of lightning, was enveloped in plasma as it struck down from above. A bolt of lightning forcefully broke through Wild Junior High's defense.
Gouma Keita stood up excitedly, "We did it! Raimon Football Club scored a point!!"
In the resting area, Ultimate Technique Naming Master Mokkin spoke up, "Sagittarius Bow combined with High Altitude Thunder Strike Shot has given birth to a new variation; let's name it..."
"Thunderous Descent!"
Shiki turned to everyone and smiled, "How about Thunderous Descent? Cool, right?"
Mokkin complained, "Don't steal my job of naming the ultimate techniques!!"
MAX quipped, "No, no, no! When did you get hired for that job?"
Mokkin lowered his head in frustration, "I already had a name in mind."
Shiki chuckled wryly, "I'll let you name it next time..."
With five minutes left in the match, Wild Junior High completely unleashed their offense and attacked fiercely, but Raimon's midfielders and defenders fought with all their might to hold them off.
Shiki seized the opportunity to intercept Jijing's ball and passed it to Bishan and Goenji.
The match against Wild Junior High concluded with Bishan and Goenji's High Altitude Thunder Strike Shot.
2-0; Raimon Junior High School secured their qualification for the next preliminary round.
.
.
.
.
.
-(Author Gulu's Note)-
I have no drafts left; I'm typing furiously. I checked the word count on Word—this chapter is 3,800 words. In the past, I would have split this into two chapters and written a bit more to post it; it's hilarious. By the way, I'm going to see Hot Dog Nai tomorrow; please don't let it rain.
Comment 0 Comment Count