Rivals (1/2)

"What's wrong crow-face? Where did all that big talk about humiliating us go?" 

Jude slowly walked back to his side of the field, he was more than satisfied with his decision.

Putting all his points into one stat was indeed the right call. 

A week prior, Jude sincerely believed that he had no way of winning against Team V. Karasu could be said to be an upgraded version of himself. They both shared very similar playstyles and tactics. This could be both a strength and weakness, he was able to make use of that aspect to guess Karasu's future action. But he also knew that Karasu could very well do the same and see through his future actions. 

His only way to win was by breaking those similarities. He had to create his own individuality. 

If he didn't change since their last meeting, then Karasu's plan would've worked. Jude would've most likely lost the ball, or been forced to pass it back. 

"You win this one. I didn't expect you to be hiding such a weapon for the last match. As expected of you, damn copycat." A wide grin formed itself on Karasu's face. 

"Who are you calling a copycat? I have no intention to copy a tiny crow." Jude clapped back. 

"If you say so. Albeit for now you sound more like a weaker version of me, Mr failed copycat." Karasu replied with a sly smirk. 

"At least now you know how it feels to get outsmarted by a weaker version of yourself."Jude waved at Karasu before returning to his teammates. 

1-0 in the 9th minute. 

"That's a better start than I would've ever expected." Miyata commented. 

Everyone on Team X felt the same. It's really happening, they might have a chance to win against the strongest team. 

"Did you get stronger again?" Yanagi asked with a wry smile. 

"I told you I was going to destroy Team V. Did you think that I was joking?" Jude responded with a straight face. 

"I'm not even surprised anymore." Miyata sighed as he signaled for everyone to get ready for Team V's kickoff. This time Karasu was no longer playing as a midfielder, he instead took the striker's position instead of Himizu. 

Once the whistle's blow echoed, Jude and Karasu were the first to move. 

Karasu passed the ball back to Hiori and rushed forward. Meanwhile, Jude ignored him completely and headed to stop Hiori. 

Karasu might look like the strongest on paper, but if Jude was able to break his team apart, then their victory would be certain. Unlike players like Sae and Rin, Karasu is unable to change the outcome on his own.

"I didn't expect you to be the one guarding me, aren't you afraid of wasting your stamina?" Hiori asked in a calm voice. 

"I will worry about that later." 

Both came to a standstill. Hiori knew that it was too risky to attempt to dribble past Jude. Instead he decided to use the tempo to his advantage and passed the ball to their other midfielder. 

It looked like the game was finally going to slow down, allowing everyone to finally catch their breath. 

Unfortunately, it was nothing but a temporary illusion. As soon as Team X slightly lowered their guard, Himizu jumped on the occasion and freed himself from Miyata's tight marking. 

Simultaneously, the midfielder with the ball sent a high lobbed pass towards Himizu. Feeling the imminent sense of danger, Jude turned to Yanagi and was about to warn him, but Hiori used that opportunity to use Jude's blind spot and free himself. 

Both Himizu and Hiori were now throwing themselves into an extremely fast paced offensive play. The sight of Karasu calmly waiting for them ahead didn't make it any better for Jude. 

His unease led him to rush back to the defense — something he almost never did as a striker. 

His premonition soon came true as Himizu trapped the ball and easily dribbled past Ichikawa. Luckily for Team X, Yanagi was able to fall back in time and block his path. 

"I knew about the crow bastard, but now I even have to deal with the snake." Yanagi frowned. Their plan wasn't going to work. 

Before the game, Miyata gave detailed instructions to every player on how to handle different situations. But nothing was going as expected. They never expected Jude to score so early in the game, nor did they expect Team V to go all out from the start. 

Yanagi was the one tasked with guarding Karasu, but now he was forced to abandon his role and face Himizu. If he allowed the three strongest players of Team V to reach their defense, then it would be as good as conceding a goal. 

"Give it back and run." A meek voice echoed from the side. 

It was none other Hiori. He finally caught up. 

"I'm glad that Team X didn't give up, when you're in the strongest team things tend to get boring really fast." Himizu smirked. He ignored Hiori's instructions and rushed forward on his own. 

Yanagi attempted to stop him but Himizu was able to catch him off guard. He feigned an attack to the right with his body, while simultaneously sliding the ball to the other side.

Thinking that he saw right through him, Yanagi threw his left leg at the ball. This was the moment Himizu was waiting for. He sharply brought the ball back to his body with the sole of his foot and spun his body to get past Yanagi.

In a desperate attempt to hold him back, Yanagi slammed his shoulder into his back.

The impact wasn't too strong, Yanagi was already off balance and wasn't able to muster enough strength to stop Himizu, but it was enough to make him stumble forward. 

Himizu had to plant his lead foot on the ground to keep himself from falling.

Realizing that he was about to break his team's momentum, he used his lead foot to pivot his body and send the ball away, forming a high arc in the air. 

The ball traveled to the other side of the field at an extreme speed. 

After taking a quick glance in the direction of the pass, Yanagi cursed. 

Sugiyama, the other midfielder who was tasked to take after Yanagi's position, was currently encircled by two of Team V's midfielders, as well as Hiori himself — and the ball was now heading towards them.