On The Side Of The Pitch With You

A Lesson Well Taught

Shindou managed to get the ball before Yukimura could, but Tenma and Tsurugi were marked. Tetsukado was the only one free, but the memory came back and the pain in his foot wasn't helping at all. He wasn't able to take the ball.

Kishibe did. "What's the matter? You can't win against us with your tail between your legs."

He passed to Minamisawa, who got through Minaho and Manabe. "We're not finished yet. You still have to learn your lesson! Mahoro!"

Before they knew it, the red haired boy, who was originally in their opponent's defense position had moved up that far in their field. "Mahoroshi Shot!" Green phantoms appeared around him before converging into the ball. When he kicked it, it disappeared and reappeared closer and closer to the goal. Ibuki got ready, but before it even reached him, the ball disappeared once again and reappeared in the net behind him.

"What?!"

"This doesn't make sense!" Sakura said between pants. "We ought to be able to do more!"

"I didn't know it would be this exhausting..." Kusaka added.

"The more we try to keep up with Resistance Japan, the more we lose our stamina." Manabe stated.

"It's not working out the way it always does..." Minaho muttered.

Meanwhile, on Resistance Japan's side of the pitch, hardly any of them were breaking a sweat.

Makari crossed his arms, completely unimpressed. "They'll wear themselves out before we can destroy them."

"They're all a group of amateurs to begin with." Senguuji stated. He was by far the most relaxed as none of them had even gotten near their goal yet. "None of them besides the Raimon trio can put up a decent fight."

"True, true." The scarf-wearing boy then turned to their final defender. "Hey, you still don't plan on helping out?"

"You don't need it." The one in the jacket was perhaps the second most relaxed person on the field, having done nothing but stand in the corner of the pitch as the whole match went on. "Besides, I'm not bitter about not being chosen to be a representative. Go and get your revenge however you like."

"You really don't want to be here, do you?" The keeper asked.

"Well, now, I wouldn't go that far." Their attention went to a certain navy haired striker and a small smile became visible under the hood. "I'm just a patient person. I'll play when it's my turn."

~~~~~

Tsurugi's eyes narrowed as he approached Tetsukado, who was crouched down. "Your plays have gotten rather feeble."

The boy immediately stood up. "That's not true."

"You hurt your foot during your fight with Minamisawa-san."

"I just twisted it a little. It's not serious."

"Then, what happened when Shindou-san gave you that pass? You should have been able to receive it. What scared you? Why did you run from the ball?"

It was rare for him to scold others, but at the moment, he didn't care even if the whole field's attention was on him. All this had to be said.

"Me? Run from the ball?"

"If you play like that, you'll get soccer taken from you as well."

"Kyou, I'm scared... It hurts so much..."

"Soccer isn't as gentle as you seem to think. If you get intimidated and try to run, soccer will eat you up."

"What do you mean?"