?OUND ? ???? ?llk.

05 TEAM X

There, on the other side of the bench, you see Pixie cut, and a part deep within you sighs in relief. Pixie cut might be abrasive, and she might be a country bumpkin, but she wasn't a bad person (at least, you hope so). At least it's not that bleach-head. She seems very miserable.

"In the First Selection, should any fouls occur, they will be called by video assistant referee. For building 5's first match, Team X will play Team Z in a standard game with two forty-five (45) minute halves. Kick-off!"

The announcement rings through the room, and the ball is passed to Isagi by Bachira as soon as the whistle blows.

But just as Isagi has the ball under his foot, debating what his next move should be, Raichi swoops in, and steals the ball from underneath Isagi. You watch their altercation with a dropped jaw and twitching eye. Pixie hisses through her teeth and whispers for her team to just do something.

Kunigami then swooped in and stole the ball from Raichi, which led to a whole mess of people trying to steal the ball for each other, uncaring if they were friends or foes. In this game, it seemed, even your teammates were your rivals that each player on the field needed to crush. It was ridiculous.

Pixie cut gets up from her seat with blazing eyes, "ARE Y'ALL STUPID?! WHY TA FUCK ARE Y'ALL FIGHTING YERSELF, YA DUMBASS—"

Barging through the crowd, there seemed to be an unstoppable force. A guy, significantly bigger than anybody else on the court, blasted through the mob of teenagers with ease, charging like a raging bull straight at Isagi. He blasts past him with a heel flick and gets by the last line of defence like it was nothing. To nobody's surprise, he shoots the goal, the ball flying into the net without a chance for Iemon to react.

Pixie cut sits down, folding one leg over the other and huffing, "Good. Barou finally did somethin' worthwhile." You glance at her but soon look back to the field with a tense expression.

The rest of Barou's team cheers him on, surrounding him in a circle. He speaks, with an authoritative and confident tone of voice, "Listen, suckers, and remember these words. When I play, the ball isn't my friend or any nonsense like that. It's merely a spherical servant that exists solely so I can shine. Whenever I'm out on the field, I'm the king."

You watch in complete and utter shock, lips parted and eyes wide. You look at Pixie cut—who has a self-satisfied smirk on her face—as if asking her if this guy is actually serious. She chortles, which answers your question more than words could ever say.

Your team starts getting riled up in a bad way, all crowned together on their side of the field and arguing about something ridiculous. You grind your jaw down and try to ignore the way that Pixie cut is gloating without words, her ego practically spilling out of her.

This is stupid... Why aren't they doing anything? What's the point of trying to do everything yourself?!

"Team Z. Resume the game." The announcer calls out, and your face flushes in embarrassment, Pixie cut looking over at you curiously.

The game starts on a bad note, with Igaguri intercepting a pass between Isagi and Bachira and effectively losing the ball as soon as he got it, leaving almost nobody on defence. The other team seemed to have gotten their stuff together because it looked like they decided that teamwork was a viable option; passing the ball to Barou—who, after getting surrounded, showed he understood the situation well—letting go of the ball so his teammate scores their team a point.

While your teammates were all at each other's throats, all wanting to score the points and unwilling to let others help them. It was stupid—they are stupid, you decide, and clench your fists hard onto your lap, scowling at them from the benches.