Change of plan

"Fucking hell." Yanagi cursed as he punched the wall of the locker room.

The first half was over.

After Jude's missed free kick and Miyata's failed shot, the flow of the game calmed down. The possession kept switching between Team V and Team X with no real opportunity to score. And this dynamic followed until time ran out. 

One thing was sure. Even if the last 15 minutes seemed to be slightly still, it was only the calm before the storm. 

Karasu and Hiori were way more wary of Jude, they completely blocked each of his chances. Whenever he got the ball, Karasu would always be closely guarding him, with Hiori not far behind. 

The rest of Team X were also unable to make themselves stand out, both teams were way more evenly matched than it might've appeared at first. 

Team V looked better on paper, but Team X's formation and teamwork made up for their individual weakness. They had more experience playing together.

Only one thing was sure. The second half was going to be decisive. 

All of Team X were now gathered in their lockers. They all sat down in silence, their breath slowly steadying as time went on. 

Once everyone had enough rest, Miyata stood up. 

"I want to apologize. It's my fault that we were unable to go on with our initial plan and gain the advantage on the first half." He spoke up.

Miyata was ready to take responsibility for his mistake.

"It's true that if our plan worked, we would be leading at the end of the first half, but so what? It's not like we're losing now." Akira voiced out his thoughts as he leisurely laid down. 

For once, he was peacefully trying to find a way to break through Team V's defense. 

"It's difficult to admit, but he's surprisingly right. It's also partially my fault. But we can't just keep blaming ourselves, the game isn't over. If our current plan doesn't work, all we have to do is make a new one." Jude chimed in.

"I honestly thought Karasu was going to be our biggest headache. I was wrong. Even after reviewing all of their matches, I was unable to notice how annoying Hiori truly was." Miyata admitted. 

"Yeah, he stopped me twice already. Whenever Karasu fails to stop me, Hiori is always there to clean up behind him. It seems that they're already used to playing together. They probably knew each other before even coming here." 

"So what's the plan?" Yanagi asked. He also blamed himself for the current situation. Maybe if his pass was better, Jude would've scored without getting fouled by Karasu? Or maybe it would've been a penalty? 

But those thoughts were now useless. What they needed was a way to get through Team V's defense, or at least a way to stop them.

"Please try playing on me a little more." Akira suddenly spoke up. 

"I noticed that they were underestimating me, thanks to Jude putting a constant pressure on them, even Hiori is more focused on him than me. I'm sure we can catch them off guard and give ourselves another opportunity to score." He added. 

A few of the players agreed with a silent nod, but Miyata seemed slightly perplexed.

"That's too risky, even if it looks like Hiori isn't as focused on you, he's still close enough to stop you if you attempt anything." Miyata sighed, earning himself a nod from Yanagi who also saw how monstrous Hiori's vision was. 

"You might be right, as soon as Akira tries something, Hiori will notice. It might sound risky but I think that's our best bet. Even if it doesn't work, if Akira is able to put enough pressure on him then I'll find myself less restrained against Karasu." 

For Jude, playing around Akira would be the most relieving option for him. 

Akira had the second best stamina in the team, if he helped Jude in tiring out Hiori and Karasu by constantly moving around, then their chances would grow exponentially. 

"Are you sure that you'll be able to get past Karasu even if you're left in a one on one situation?" Miyata asked, still skeptical even after hearing out Jude's opinion. 

Although Jude was their best player, Karasu wasn't an easy person to get past. He was only able to do it thanks to Yanagi's help and being able to catch him by surprise twice. But would his individual abilities be enough? 

"Don't worry about it. I can give you my word, I won't disappoint."

Jude's confidence slightly reassured Miyata. After letting out a sigh, Miyata spoke up.

"For the defense, I want everyone to go back. Me, Jude and Akira will also go back in the defense. We'll overwhelm them with sheer numbers." 

If Team X can't be confident in their attack, then tehy'll have to rely on their defense.

"Alright then, that's set. Let's go."

Jude stood up and walked out, closely followed by Yanagi and Akira. 

3 minutes were left before the start of the second half. 

Miyata and the others chose to stay behind to speak about the individual details of the plan. Miyata grabbed each player apart and gave them as many instructions as he could in the little time they had. 

In the stadium only 5 players were present. Karasu and Hiori were apparently waiting for them to arrive and walked up to Team X's trio. 

"I wanted to give my little friends a warning, in the second half we will be playing more seriously. I hope you won't give up too soon." Karasu smirked as he now stood face to face with Jude. 

"Worry about yourself instead, shitty crow face." Yanagi almost grabbed karasu by his collar if not for Jude stopping him. 

Karasu simply replied with an appreciative nod before going back to their side of the field as the rest of their team finally arrived. 

Everyone calmly went back to their position but the air was more tense than ever before.

It was now time for the second half to begin.