"This is a friendly between Inazuma Japan and Resistance Japan!" Funaki stated. "I will act as referee. Begin the kick-off!"
The second the whistle blew, Tsurugi passed the ball to Matatagi, who made a back pass to their captain. Hakuryuu, Minamisawa and Namikawa all went after him, but thinking fast, he was able to pass to Sakura before they could get it.
But immediately, Kishibe took the ball. "Is that all you've got?"
The pink haired girl glared at him. "Don't look down on me because I'm a girl!"
"Sakura, don't push yourself!" Tenma warned.
"I fix my own mistakes!"
But what she didn't realize was that there were four others following behind her. Kishibe didn't bat an eyelash as his pass blew her off her feet.
Hakuryuu received it. He waved his hand over the ball. A bright light and strong winds surrounded him as he jumped. The sky that was a clear blue mere seconds before turned dark and cloudy as a storm approached.
"Here he comes!" Shindou warned.
"White Hurricane!"
But it wasn't heading for the goal just yet.
Yukimura jumped up and slash-kicked the ball twice, dropping the temperature of the field even more. The storming ball was covered in ice, and a gray panther roared as he kicked it towards the goal. "Panther Blizzard!"
"A shoot chain?!"
"What incredible power!"
Manabe and Minaho were unable to do anything. Shindou jumped up to try and block it, but he was easily blown away. Ibuki had no time to call out a hissatsu and settled for his bare hands, but he was flung to the side of the pitch.
"Are you okay?" Tetsukado asked, running over to him.
He was not. His gloves had turned black from the burn. "That was completely different from what I've seen so far..."
"What?"
"Shindou and the others have been fighting against guys like that...?"
As they headed back to their positions for the next kick off, Hakuryuu had a proud smirk on his face. "Do you see? This is our difference in rank."
Tsurugi didn't say anything. This was reality after all. And after his talk with Tetsukado the night before, he supposed it was about time the rest of the team realized that too.
"From the looks of that shoot chain, they really do mean to destroy us." Shindou stated.
"It's a challenge we'll have to accept." Tenma replied, feeling the excitement. "Let's do our best to bring out even more of everyone's abilities during this game!"
"But be careful. That wasn't the full extent of their power."
He knew that. This game was not going to be easy.
Tsurugi passed to Matatagi once again, but when he tried to make a back pass like before, Kishibe and Minamisawa had already marked both Tenma and Sakura. So he tried to go forward. Before he could blink, Namikawa had the ball.
"Hey, track team!" He said. "What the hell was up with that dribbling? You looked like you were going in slow-mo!"
He passed to Minamisawa, who easily got through a frustrated Tetsukado. The ex-boxer felt a crack, and for a moment, a memory of his hand injury came back. He forcefully pushed the thought aside to focus on the game, but immediately he was greeted with the sight of all his teammates struggling.
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?"
"That's for you to find out."
Just as he walked back to his position, Tenma came up to him. "Tsurugi. I realized the meaning of this match."
"What they want to tell us through this game..." Shindou said.
"As Hakuryuu and the others shoot the ball towards us, the only answer we can give them in our current state is..."
Everything we've got.
In the next kickoff, the ball went from Shindou to Tenma and the Raimon trio proceeded to break through Resistance Japan's defenses.
Senguuji got into a ready position. "Show me the power of Inazuma Japan!"
"Tsurugi!"
He'll put every bit of power he has into this kick. "Bicycle Sword!"
With no time to call out a hissatsu, the pink haired keeper held his hand out and braced himself. But even after struggling, the ball still got past him.
"Whoa!"
"What an incredible clash of wills!"
But that was also the only goal they'll be getting in the match. Resistance Japan knew to keep the three of them marked at all times as the rest effortlessly attacked.
Hakuryuu took possession of the ball. "White..."
All their eyes were on him, but Tsurugi caught sight of a blue blur slipping past him. Crap! "Defense, on the left!"
"Just kidding." The white haired boy canceled his move, kicking the ball down with the strength of a shot, but it wasn't heading for the goal.
The hooded figure lifted a knee up and caught the ball, the impact creating a shockwave that sent most of them flying back.
"Everyone!"
A chuckle came. "Wow, Even though they put me as a defender and I barely did anything this whole match, you guys still thought of me as a threat. I feel pretty honored."
Tsurugi felt his jaw drop.
"What...?"
"A-A girl's voice?"
That's not just any girl's voice...!
"Guess I should try to live up to that then."
She clapped before slowly separating her hands. A bright blue light appeared within them as the ball lifted high into the air. When it grew bright enough to engulf her, the ball sucked the energy in for itself before she lifted her hand up, causing it to split into multiple blades of light. "Ikenie no Ken!" She jumped with a flip, kicking the one in the center, and the blades followed suit, converging as it headed for the goal.
Ibuki ran up to it and jumped. "Wild Du―"
But before he could reach it, the ball went in.
As the girl landed, the hoodie was thrown off her head, revealing blonde hair with pink streaks. She had a small smile as her purple eyes had a glint of mischievousness to them. "Yeah, I thought so."
"W-Who..."
She turned to Manabe, who asked. "Gouenji Kimiko. Technically, I'm a part of Raimon Junior High, but I'm not old enough to enroll there yet. Nice to meet you though."
It's... It's really... She's... He took a deep, deep breath. Joy was only one of the many emotions he felt swirling inside him. But he'll have to deal with her after this.
He went up to Tetsukado, holding a hand out that he gratefully took. "How's your leg?"
"I'll manage."
Still acting tough, huh? "Soccer is a living thing. It's a wild beast that will attack you if you look away from it. If you don't want to be swallowed up, don't look away. Keep your eyes on everything around you."
"Everything..."
"Hakuryuu." Tenma suddenly said. "I guess I should say thank you."
"It was Coach Kuroiwa who ordered us to destroy you guys." He simply stated.
Well, they supposed they should've expected that.
"It looks like that order was successfully executed." Minamisawa said.
"It was worth our time coming here." Yukimura agreed.
"Now you know the challenge you must face." Senguuji said with his arms on his hips.
"Inazuma Japan!" Fudou called from his bench. "You still have not made soccer your own. At the rate you're going, you couldn't possibly make even a dent against the strong opponents that are to come."
And there, the lesson was brought to light.
"We've lost." He acknowledged. "But we will be sure to turn this defeat into something meaningful."
~~~~~~~~~~
Ikenie no Ken (生贄の剣): Sacrificial Sword
A hissatsu I made up for Kimiko to fit her miko (shrine maiden) nickname as well as her connection to Tsurugi :)