?OUND ? ???? ?llk.

26 3 AGAINST 3: V2

This whole game seriously relies on how willing Barou is to play nice... which the odds don't seem too great. Ugh...

You find yourself cursing out the king and how talented he is. It's unfair. But... I guess if I was that talented... I might be a little selfish too. You grimace at the mere thought.

The kick-off begins again, and Isagi is passed the ball. He observes his surroundings for a bit, and then, after making a judgment call, he passes to Barou. Isagi jukes Reo by rushing behind him in his blind spot, and he is clearly free and has a clear path to the goal. However—surprise surprise, Barou being the selfish king he is—does not pass to Isagi, in fact, he intentionally looks away.

Quickly after, the ball is stolen by Kunigami and Barou is left falling on the ground. You slap your palm over your eyes, fingers indenting onto your forehead as you groan—hearing the sound of a whistle and the cheer of Kunigami. You can almost sense the brewing tension between your teammates due to Barou's ridiculous play, and as much as you hate to admit it, you feel anxiety brewing deep within your stomach.

Isagi receives the ball after the restart, and Barou and Nagi quickly go into place, with their respective blockers following close behind. This time, Isagi doesn't make the same mistake twice and passes to Nagi, who jukes Chigiri with an inhuman catch, the ball barely balancing on the tip of his shoe. Now with the ball safely away from Chigiri, he slams his foot into it and scores the first goal for your team.

A smile traces over your lips at the day's first goal for your team, and a little anxiety is lifted off your chest from this revelation. Isagi and Nagi high-five each other before returning to their spots for the restart. 

Barou and Isagi hold up the restart with a very intense-looking conversation, Barou getting all-up in Isagi's face with clenched fists and Isagi yelling something back at him. You aren't too shocked by the tension growing within your team, but honestly, you just wished they would all play nice for at least this match. Otherwise, we might never get a chance like this again.

Barou is basically steaming from the ears when he walks away, jaw clenched so hard that he might break it. You find your eyes lingering on him a little longer until Kyouka shatters your train of thought. She bit down on the inside of her cheek and her lips pouted out, "Barou's acting even more selfish than ever... is he always like this now? Or is it just..."

She doesn't finish her sentence, but you know exactly what she means. You shake your head, then rest your cheek in the palm of your hand. It feels like seconds had gone by when Kunigami scored once again with a header—pushing Isagi and Barou away with full force and slamming his head into the ball, which shoots it straight into the net.

Kunigami has no problem utilising his true strength—with full physical force, he pushes through. You've always seen him as that kind of guy, and today, this game proves it. He balls up his fists and pumps them in the air with a victory cheer, slapping both Chigiri and Reo on the palm after.

It's hard for you to feel malice towards Kyouka's team in the same way you did in the first selection because you really know these people. It's not like they're strangers to you, serving only as an obstacle to your boy's dream of winning, but rather, you know them. You know their dreams and motivations, their past and troubles—you know them.

It's hard seeing Isagi lay on the ground with a lost, puppy-ish expression on his face when he watches Kunigami walk away, but it's even harder to swallow when you realise that you don't think you'll be upset if you lose.

The game restarts, and after the whistle blows, Nagi passes to Isagi. Isagi looks around, observing the situation as he usually does with his outstanding eyes. While Kunigami stays on Barou's side—it's clear that he's not marking him with the same ferocity as he did when the match began, and you don't blame him. You never thought you'd say it, but Barou's been utterly useless this entire match. He's done nothing but play his selfish plays, which usually wouldn't be a problem if he got any scores in.