"I can play properly..." Y/N mumbled under his breath. "I can... play..."
After a few weeks of not using his potential, sucking up to the rest of Team Z and trying to hide himself away, it was a huge breath of fresh air to say that.
It was too late for him to do anything at that moment, though, and he wasn't going to steal the ball from his teammates. Bachira and Isagi pressed Reo closely, forcing the purple-haired boy to pass it out to the wing.
Zantetsu deftly caught the ball with the outside of his foot, jumping a bit to take the ball down. He exploded with speed, running fast down Team Z's left wing, but was met with Naruhaya and Y/N in his path.
Instead of going through them like Y/N expected, Zantetsu passed it all the way back to the centre of the field. Nagi was waiting patiently to receive it, but before he could, Igaguri came out of nowhere, using his head like a bat to knock it away.
The ball went to Isagi, then to Bachira, who began a fast attack. Kunigami and Gagamaru ran up the flanks, while Bachira broke some poor defender's ankles and zipped up the field with his dribbling.
He booted a long pass way in front of Gagamaru, and the caveman leapt forwards. A diving header was ambitious - maybe too ambitious as the ball glanced off of the crossbar, letting the goalkeeper safely pick it up.
"It's alright!" The defenders yelled towards Gagamaru. "Try again!"
Y/N stayed in defence, watching as Reo received the ball. He searched for Nagi, calling out as his face lit up with excitement.
"Hey, Nagi! Let's give that move a try!"
What an ego... Y/N grinned to himself. We've shown that we aren't just simple pushovers, and that got him excited. Reo is a proper egoist.
Near Y/N in defence, Nagi gave him a helpless, tired look. His shoulders slumped, and he mouthed 'help me' before turning back to Reo. Y/N hadn't even known Nagi noticed him. The white-haired boy seemed to pay no attention to anybody except Reo. "Do I have to?"
Reo slammed the ball hard, sending a ridiculously long pass all the way back from defence. It curved in the air, heading in front of Nagi as the white-haired boy ran slowly forwards.
"He missed the pass!" Igaguri shouted, running to intercept.
Before the ball could hit the ground, Nagi's eyes narrowed. He launched himself forwards ridiculously fast, extending a leg high into the air to perfectly catch the ball.
Like that, all the momentum of the pass was gone. Nagi gave a small hum of satisfaction, dropping to the ground. He drew back a leg with wide eyes, like he was in a trance, and slammed it straight into the back of the goal.
Y/N blinked twice. "Whoa, not a bad trap."
Igaguri rushed over to the ball as the whistle blew to signify Team V's goal. He kicked it from the goal line, beginning play immediately as he yelled out. "It's one goal, keep going! Amen!"
Raichi growled. "Let's do this!"
Kunigami received the ball off Isagi, and they began moving up the field. Y/N sat in defence, waiting for something to happen. He wanted to score, but he held himself back for now. For what reason, he didn't really know.
It wasn't long before Reo managed to steal the ball. Smiling, he immediately launched a similar long pass across the field. It went a lot higher, and less far, practically falling on top of Nagi's head.
Nagi stopped the ball with his laces, sending it high up into the air and going backwards over his head. Isagi shouted to the defence. "Stop him! It bounced up, you have a chance!"
Igaguri and Raichi both rushed to steal back the ball. Before they could, though, Nagi planted his foot. He dropped his arms to the floor, spinning around and launching a bicycle kick straight into the top corner of the goal.
Iemon had no chance, falling way short of the ball. And Igaguri and Raichi were both left reeling by the sudden, unexpected play.
Y/N was the one this time to head to the back of the goal. Everyone else was in shock from the goal, so Y/N wandered over to the centre of the pitch, ball in hand like a teddy bear as he placed it down on the floor.
Before he could, Kunigami was in his face. "Y/N, stay in defence like we planned."
"Like you planned, remember?" Y/N huffed. "I want to get some ball time."
"That would be a first." Igaguri had joined their conversation. "You've done nothing in all the games. So come back, defend! It's all you're good at."
That stung. A lot. Y/N glared at Igaguri, but Kunigami had already started playing. He sent the ball to Chigiri, who darted up the wing using his speed. "Go, Chigiri!"
Y/N's mouth fell open. They're treating me like I'm useless? Unpleasant heat formed in his stomach, and he swallowed back his anger. What the hell...
The ball was way in front of Chigiri, and while he should have reached it under normal circumstances, he was outpaced. Zantetsu came in from the side, stealing the ball away with his powerful acceleration.
He passed to Reo, who slowly began working up the field by himself. Reo's dribbling was good, knocking the ball forwards in short, sharp bursts that allowed him to easily get past Gagamaru.
Team Z was panicking. Igaguri stopped pulling Y/N to go mark Nagi, and Kunigami attempted to stop Reo from dribbling further. Y/N was left alone in the middle of the pitch, anger bubbling as he watched everyone around him play like he was invisible.
"Hey, Zantetsu, this is your territory, right?" Reo grinned. "Here, have a shot!" He passed the ball sideways, to Zantetsu, who was already speeding down the flank.
"Yes. This is my... territory." The speedster fired a shot off, an accurate left-footed ball into the top corner of the goal.
Y/N didn't even attempt to fight the third goal. He stood there, knuckles turning white from how much he was clenching his fists. His slender, lean frame shook ever so slightly.
He didn't care about making the games unfair. He didn't care that he had promised himself to wait out the first selection. And he didn't care whose team he was on.
He was going to score.
Nobody had noticed Y/N, still standing there alone in the field. Where Y/N had comforted Niko, where Y/N had encouraged Chigiri and fed passes to the other members of Team Z, nobody was there for him.
Bachira brought the ball to the centre of the field. He grinned widely. Team Z looked completely out of it already, three goals down.
They formed a ragged, worn defence formation behind Bachira. Y/N's spot in defence was completely empty.
Bachira touched the ball. A whistle blew from above speakers, signalling the kickoff. He kicked the ball forwards slightly.
Team Z watched on. Bachira's eyes glowed with passion, glowed with egoism as he grinned widely. "When we're in a desperate situation, we should be excited, not scared."
Isagi was left speechless, standing next to Bachira with wide eyes. Kunigami had been waiting for a ball, but just stopped, watching Bachira take his first step forwards with hopeful eyes. Reo, Nagi, and Zantetsu stopped their celebrations, looking towards Bachira with confused, slightly worried expressions.
Then Y/N stole the ball.
He appeared behind Bachira like a shadow. That was it, just a flash of movement and the scuffle of boots before he had the ball. Nobody even had time to blink before he was far in front of Team Z, the ball at his feet.
Y/N revelled in the feeling. He was running properly again, far faster than anybody on the field. Nobody could touch him, nobody could predict him, and most importantly nobody could doubt him.
"What the hell?!" Shouts from both his own team and the enemy rang out all over the field, but Y/N didn't even hear them. He was hyper focused, the ball practically a part of him as he sprinted down the pitch.
Team V's players were left in the dust. Y/N didn't just go past them. No, that would've been too easy. He ran straight for the players, destroying each and every one of them in his own special way.
The first few people he faced off against, he hadn't met before. It didn't matter to him as he blitzed past them. He flicked the ball between the first's legs, used the second player as cover to spin around the third player, and faked out the last.
The next few came at him in a group, leaving behind all of their marking on Team Z to defend against him. It wasn't nearly good enough, as with acceleration like nothing the other players had seen before, he flew past them.
Two players threw themselves directly into his path, attempting to stop him from going past. Y/N didn't care.
He planted one foot into the floor, and used the other to push himself sideways. In half a second, he completely changed directions, moving at the same blindingly fast speed without any visible slowing down.
The last few players to attempt to stop him were Nagi, Reo and Zantetsu.
Y/N didn't even bother playing around. He ran, faster than any of them could react. Their expressions morphed from shock to unbridled fear as Y/N left them in the dust. Zantetsu attempted a chase, but Y/N was already far ahead.
He was breathing a somewhat heavy amount, and even though he wasn't trying hard, everyone was staring at him with shock. But Y/N didn't notice, a cry of happiness ripping itself from his lips as he neared the goal.
Well, near would be an overstatement. He was still a good twenty metres away, but that couldn't matter less.
Y/N drew back his leg, feeling the familiar rush of energy fill him as he looked at the goal. Right there. He focused on the top right corner, and kicked.
It flew in a huge curve, going to the far right of the goal and looking like it was missing horribly. Then, at the last second, the ball dipped and curved, going perfectly where Y/N had envisioned.
The whistle blew. Everyone stared at him.
In under a minute, Y/N had brought the ball from the centre of the field, all the way to the end, and scored. In under a minute, he'd broken Team V's entire formation, destroying their offence, defence, and goalkeeping. In under a minute, he'd transformed from a useless kid into a terrifying monster.
And he wasn't even breathing hard. That was the scariest part. He simply stood upright, blinked once, and walked back to Team Z's defensive line.
"W-what the fuck?" Raichi screamed.
Team Z came running to Y/N this time. Cheering, screaming, yelling with surprise. Chigiri was right in front of Y/N, a huge smile on his face. "Holy shit, Y/N! That was crazy!"
Y/N held out a hand, stopping anyone from coming nearer. "I didn't do it for you."
His eyes narrowed, all signs of the usual Y/N disappearing. "Never fucking call me useless again." Y/N stared down Igaguri, who was mid celebration.
"I'll kill you. And I'll kill your family, and your friends, and everyone you love. And you better pray to whatever god you believe in that I don't go up against you in the second selection, because I will crush your pathetic little dreams. You untalented, tiny excuse for a striker."
His voice was filled with venom, and every person on Team Z was taken aback. Y/N let them be shocked for a few seconds, before he smirked.
"Don't worry, that was only towards Igaguri." He grabbed Chigiri's hands, tugging him close and hugging him tightly. "Don't worry. You just got your ego back, and I'm not letting you get eliminated."
From the sidelines, Kuon was watching Y/N's lithe figure as he embraced Chigiri. His mouth had fallen wide open, and he understood what Ego had said about him not being safe.
"How does anybody beat a monster like that...?"
Across the field, both Team V and Team Z were wondering the exact same things. While Team Z celebrated Y/N's goal, Reo, Nagi, and Zantetsu had gathered the team to try and talk strategy.
"We just have to avoid him, and we win." Reo stated.
"He's crazy fast, though!" One of the members replied. "We literally can't stop him!"
Reo grinded his teeth with frustration. "Just try to keep the ball away from him! Pass away, run away, stay away from him."
He glanced at Team Z. Y/N was watching them.