52 Last minute effort

"Why do we always have to be the ones shitting our pants in the very last minutes, even though we're currently winning?"

Miyata asked ironically, shaking his head as he watched Team W get ready for their kickoff.

Ishikari, the tall giant, let out one last deep breath. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, as he tried to relieve himself of the immense pressure he was feeling for the first time in his life. 

Once he was ready, Ishikari passed the ball back to Hiiragi, sprinting forward alongside the whole team. 

"It's the last push! If any of you have the soul of a striker, then don't you dare stop running!" Hiiragi yelled out from the top of his lungs, neatly controlling the ball before launching himself ahead. 

"Don't even think of getting through me." Jude snickered as he stood still in front of Hiiragi, blocking his path while simultaneously pressuring him to fall back and pass the ball back. 

Team X's goal in those last few minutes wasn't to score, or even to stop them. As long as they stalled for enough time, then the victory was theirs.

Team W's fight was a race against time. 

"I never planned to go against you to begin with," Hiiragi whispered with a faint smile, as he passed the ball past Jude.

Unbeknownst to Jude, Otoya used his stealthy step to get behind Jude, allowing Hiiragi to easily pass the ball forward and run. 

Otoya easily controlled the ball, he ran forward but stopped in the middle of his run, realizing that he was once again faced with another wall almost as worrying as Jude.

"Miyata already told us about your little weakness, don't even dream of moving past me."

Yanagi voiced out as he closely guarded Otoya, Blue Lock's ninja was forced to turn around, he covered the ball with his back, struggling to keep the ball in his control. Both the limited amount of time available and Yanagi's relentless pushes pressured him more and more as the clock kept ticking. 

"Bold of you to assume I only amount to that much." Otoya's low voice echoed. He passed the ball back to Hiiragi with the heel of his foot, letting it roll in between Yanagi's legs, as Team X's player desperately tried to stop him. 

Unfortunately for Yanagi, now that Otoya got rid of the ball, he was back to being unstoppable. Making use of his speed and stealthy step, he used one of the Yoshiro brothers as a cover to block Yanagi as he weaved between players, and advanced farther up the field. 

"You guys are a pain in the ass!"

With one minute left, Jude extended his leg. His body skimmed the field in a low, controlled slide aimed in front of Hiiragi. 

Thanks to his superior football IQ, Hiiragi saw it coming and came to a sudden halt, effectively sliding the ball back to escape Jude's tackle, which also made him lose a few valuable seconds. 

Pushing the ball to the left, Hiiragi barely escaped Jude's tackle, earning himself a clear window to pass the ball. 

"The most likely to score..." Hiiragi murmured to himself, taking a good look around the field, as he cautiously searched for the best option. 

He knew that his decision would be affecting the result of this game. 

So many players were running around in the penalty area, making it increasingly harder for Hiiragi to discern the best option amidst the chaos of the field.

Ishikari was always a great option, but this time he was closely guarded by three players, even the goalkeeper had his eyes glued to him, ready to pounce on him at the first sign of him jumping to score. They all acknowledged him as the most dangerous player on the field. 

"That's it." Making up his mind, Hiiragi struck the ball precisely, sending it flying near the penalty area. The ball formed a high arc in the air before finally curving behind Ishiraki and reaching the flickering figure of Otoya. 

Otoya weaved through defenders with unparalleled ease, freeing himself from any defender as he easily trapped the spinning ball with the outside of his foot. 

The goal was left completely empty because of Michio going out of his position, Hiiragi's pass tricked him into believing that the ball was destined for Ishiraki.

Otoya noticed that slight error. Without wasting any time, he trapped the ball with his left foot, before switching to his right foot and shooting the ball as hard as he could — all in the span of a few seconds. 

"No damn way I'm letting that happen!"

Both Akira and Yanagi threw themselves in front of him with their whole body, allowing Yanagi to successfully block the incoming shot with his stomach. 

In an uneventful turn of events, the ball bounced back near Otoya once again. But before anyone could react Miyata tackled the loose ball, sending it out of bounds and saving his team. 

"Finally!!!" The mechanical whistle's sound announced the end of the game and the victory of Team X. 

Both Akira and Yanagi fell down on their back, putting all their mind into slowing down their ragged breath. For the first time, they were too tired to even celebrate, what Team X was currently feeling was none other than relief. 

"I... I told you... I won't let it happen again..." Yanagi said, speaking in between deep breaths.

A small smile of satisfaction drawn on his face as he looked at Miyata.

"You did well." The young brown-haired boy was no different than his friend. Both were sprawled down on the ground with no strength left to stand up or speak. 

Not far from them, Otoya was also sitting down on the artificial grass of the field. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he looked down at the ground with an emotionless face. 

"You better make it out of the first selection."

Otoya turned around to look at the origin of the voice, only to find Jude standing behind him. His eyes looked down at Otoya, while simultaneously holding a certain respect for him. 

"You bet I will, and I don't doubt that I'll find you there as well." Otoya let out a small smile as he stretched his hand in Jude's direction. 

Jude replied with a smile of his own before grabbing Otoya's outstretched arm and helping him stand up.

"Don't expect me to lose again if we ever meet." 

With those last words, Otoya left the stadium and headed to his team's locker room.