Chapter 6 – Scrimmage 2

Kira, always analyzing, watched silently from his goalkeeper position. 'That link-up was good, but it could've been faster. Naruhaya wasted precious seconds trying to break through with dribbles. Chigiri limited his own space by coming too close to help, which forced that post hold,' he thought, breaking down every moment in his head. 'But they did one thing right—they created the perfect opportunity for Kuon to use his jumping ability to score.'

Team 2 celebrated their early lead, while Team 1 gathered to regroup, frustration hanging in the air as they tried to figure out how to respond to the quick goal.

"What was that?! Did you guys even try, Isagi, Bachira?" he shouted, his frustration boiling over as he lashed out at his teammates.

Bachira, unfazed by Raichi's outburst, shrugged with a smirk. "Eh? You ask that yourself? Didn't you get tricked by such an obvious fake?" Bachira shot back, his tone amused.

Raichi's face twisted in anger. "You looking for a fight?!"

"Enough!" Kunigami interrupted, stepping in to prevent the situation from escalating further. "We need to focus on how to score. We're one goal behind, but we can turn it around if we use my left foot to score."

"Blegh, I don't want to pass to a guy who's out of position," Bachira replied, his voice playful but firm. "Only Isagi is in the prime position to score, we should use him."

"Isagi's too weak to handle physical confrontation!" Raichi barked, clearly unimpressed with the suggestion. "You should pass it to me!"

Isagi was deep in thought, replaying the earlier play in his mind. 'Certainly, if we just use our most powerful assets—Kunigami's left foot and Bachira's dribbling—we can create real chances. But Raichi's unpredictability keeps messing up that good link-up. And what can I do to help the team score?'

Meanwhile, the argument between Raichi, Bachira, and Kunigami continued, with Imamura trying to play the peacemaker, but to no avail. Isagi lamented that if this chaos persisted, they were going to fall further behind.

True to Isagi's prediction, the remaining ten minutes with Kira as goalkeeper were filled with wasted opportunities. Team 1 struggled to cooperate, leading to missed chances, while Team 2, led by Kuon, executed smoother plays. Kira made five saves but let in three goals. The score stood at 0-3 in favor of Team 2, with Kuon scoring twice and Naruhaya adding another.

"Alright, time's up! Ten minutes are over!" Kira announced. He turned to Raichi. "Raichi! Switch places with me!"

"Like hell I will! I don't take orders from you!" Raichi snapped, refusing to cooperate.

"Too bad! You're going to. What? Chickening Out?" Kira taunted, his tone sharp.

That sentence lit a fire in Raichi. "I'll show you chicken!" Raichi barked, storming over and snatching the gloves from Kira's hands. "I'll block all your shots!"

As Raichi prepared to take Kira's place, Bachira couldn't resist chiming in. "Alright, we're finally playing together, Kira!" he exclaimed, once again trying to climb onto Kira's back. Kira dodged swiftly, avoiding him with a quick sidestep.

"Are you really going to try that every time we're together?" Kira asked, half-annoyed, half-amused.

"Yep!" Bachira replied, grinning.

Kira shook his head, brushing off Bachira's antics. He focused on the task ahead, making his way to the center of the field, where Isagi was already waiting to start the game.

"Isagi," Kira began, his tone serious as he took control. "I'll be occupying the middle. You should link up with Bachira and help him break through on the right. I'll pass the ball when you're in position."

"Okay, I can do that," Isagi replied, accepting Kira's lead without hesitation. Isagi knew he still needed to adjust to the pace of the game and find his role. If Kira believed he could control the flow of the match, Isagi didn't mind letting him take charge for now.

Signaling the restart, Isagi took the kick-off, passing the ball to Kira. Kira stopped it in the middle of the pitch, his eyes scanning the field, memorizing the positions of both teams.

"Time to make an impression," Kira smirked, determination burning in his eyes as the game resumed.

As Kira brought the ball down the center of the field, he was quickly confronted by Kuon, whose confidence had grown after scoring two goals. "I won't let you past," Kuon said firmly, standing his ground.

"Really? I'd like to see you try," Kira quipped back, his voice calm and assured.

While they exchanged words, Kira deliberately allowed the ball to slip slightly out of his control, a calculated move. Seeing this as an opportunity, Kuon lunged forward, aiming to intercept the ball. But this played right into Kira's hands. With a swift nudge, Kira pushed the ball out of Kuon's reach, baiting him out of position.

Kira smoothly sidestepped Kuon, leaving him behind with ease. 'Shit! He baited me,' Kuon realized, cursing his mistake as he turned to see Kira advancing toward the top of the box.

Gagamaru and Naruhaya were already stationed in the middle, waiting to slow Kira down. "Now, Naruhaya! We can trap him here and steal the ball!" Gagamaru called out, urging his teammate to move in.

"On it!" Naruhaya replied, ready to close the space.

But their efforts were in vain. As they moved in, Kira made a sudden stop, throwing both defenders off rhythm. Before they could react, Kira broke through to the left, slipping the ball between Gagamaru's legs with a flawless nutmeg.

"Fast!" Naruhaya exclaimed, struggling to keep up.

"Damn!" Gagamaru cursed, realizing too late that he had been beaten.

Isagi watched the entire sequence unfold, eyes wide with admiration. 'Amazing! His dribbling is so smooth, his touch doesn't slow him down at all. He can get past defenders with such precise movements, leaving them scrambling to catch up,' Isagi analyzed, trying to absorb everything he was seeing.

Suddenly, Bachira called out, his voice cutting through the tension. "Over here, Kira! I'm open!" he shouted, eagerly asking for the ball as he moved into a perfect position.

Kira quickly passed the ball to Bachira, who wasted no time in taking a shot toward the goal. However, before the ball could reach its target, Chigiri swooped in, deflecting the trajectory with a quick interception. The ball shot upward and hung in the air, suspended momentarily before falling toward the middle of the box. Iemon moved in to collect it.

'In terms of physicality, I won't win against Iemon,' Kira thought, analyzing the situation as he made his way toward the ball's landing spot. 'But when he traps the ball… that's another story.'

As Iemon prepared to trap the ball, Kira timed his move perfectly. His foot swooped in, altering the ball's path before Iemon could gain control. Without even looking, Kira passed the ball to his right, where Kunigami was waiting, poised to strike. The sudden pass caught everyone in the box off guard.

Kunigami, even though he's surprised, showed no hesitation and unleashed a powerful shot with his left foot. The ball rocketed toward the goal, smashing into the right crossbar on the inside before bouncing into the net. Raichi, who had tried to rush in and save the shot, was just a second too late.

"YEAH!" Kunigami roared in triumph, the satisfaction of scoring clear in his voice as Team 1 celebrated their first goal of the game.

Kira, observing the play, remained calm. 'Kunigami's left foot is powerful, but his accuracy still needs a lot of improvement,' he thought, analyzing the goal and already thinking about how to refine their next attack.

The score is now 1-3.