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13 TEAM V

You bite down on the inside of your cheek, eyes darting from player to player. Isagi passes the ball to Chigiri, and seeing him dart across the field gives you a small sliver of hope. The ignition in your chest deflates as soon as it lights, however, as Zantetsu—coming out of where your eyes could not see—runs alongside Chigiri (perhaps even faster) effortlessly and tosses the ball back over to Reo.

He's even faster than Chigiri? How? Your heartbeat noticeably fastens in your chest and panic settles deep within your mind. If he's faster... you think, then so many options become nonexistent. 

Everybody falls back to cover Nagi—forgetting about the other striker dashing beside Reo. He smiles, passing the ball over to Zantetsu, and with a shrill sonic boom, the ball flies into the goal. 

Your eyes widen and your lips part, despair welling in your chest. Team V is even more incredible than you had imagined—with strong teamwork, too many plays to limit, and amazing chemistry. You're all mediocre compared to them—and because of that, you'll lose. Your stomach twists and turns and you feel sick at the thought. You don't want to lose.

Your teamwork is getting sloppy. Everybody can see it. They're all panicking, and too focused on one thing or another, to work coherently. You grind your fingernails against your palm and stand up out of your seat, yelling reverberating against your lungs once again, "DON'T STOP NOW! IT'S NOT—"

You abruptly stop when you open your eyes, and see Bachira running across the field—completely alone—and dodging each person that came his way. He twisted himself around Reo and Zantetsu in a dancing-esque motion, stepping across the field in swift movements until he scored, the words GOAL flashing upon the large screen.

You sit back down on the bench, jaw absolutely dropped and pupils wide as you stare at Bachira, awestruck by how amazing he just was. Kyouka seemed to have the same reaction as you did, palms pressed against her cheeks and mouth wide open like a fish. She turned to you—either unbothered or unaware of the awkward tension that still surrounded you both—and stared up at you in shock, "That number 8... he did all that by himself!"

You glance her way, and seeing that utterly transfixed expression makes your mouth feel dry—but you look away, and charm her with an answer, "He... is amazing. Bachira..." You press your lips tightly together, and they curl up into a smile. Bachira—you're a good boy for getting the team all hyped up with an incredible goal... I'll have to remember to give you a head pat after this.

It seems that—inspired by the true awesomeness of Bachira—they've come up with a new plan. Raichi moves from his defensive goal position to mark Reo—wrapping his arm around his side to limit his mobility. Reo seems to panic and send an emergency pass to Zantetsu, who catches it with his chest and runs. Chigiri follows closely after, but is unable to keep up with the glasses-wearer's sonic speed, and opts instead to dive his leg where he's trying to pass. It forces Zantetsu to make a sloppy pass, but it still ends up getting to Nagi anyway.

The snow-haired boy winds up for a kick, but it is ultimately slowed down by Igaguri's face, and you have to hide your smile when he flies backwards (soz guys i just. hate that thing.), the ball lands in Bachira's possession. He giggles and you're sure he says a smart quip—because it is Bachira, after all—before he passes over to Kunigami. The muscular boy runs towards his desired shooting range, and even though he's still a good few metres away from where his chances of making it skyrocket, he still goes in for the kill. With a completely uncurved ball, that swung away from the goalie's arms at the last second and blasted into the net.

The half-time whistle blows, and you find yourself back in the locker room. As soon as you set your bag down, you rush over to Bachira, hands reaching up and rubbing at his hair.

"Bachira!!!" You cheer, and he laughs as you mess up his bangs, revelling in your affection. "You were incredible! Your skills are out of this world!"

"Awww, shucks, you got me blushin'!" He giggles, patting down his hair when your hand leaves his head. You quickly turn to Kunigami and bound up and down on your heels, fists balled and pumped up.

"That shot was an outstanding feat—it was very much outside of your range, and we've never practised it!"

"Yeah! Why didn't you tell us you had an amazing, no-speed mid-range shot?! You're a true superhero, muscle boy!"

Kunigami flexes his hands out and gives you a grin, sipping from the bottle that you had handed him before speaking, "No. I just focused on how I made contact with the ball. Moreso than usual. When I scored that goal, though, I felt something new."

Laughter surrounds you all, and Kunigami gets slapped on the back a few times by Igaguri. You feel your lips stretch up, and you laugh along, a new spark of excitement for what is to come.

*⋆｡˚𖦹࣪˖ ִֶָ⋆｡°✩