Team W kicked off.
Unsurprisingly, the Wanima brothers still led the team's attack. Their target was clear, aimed directly at Team Z's defensive loophole: the winger, Chigiri Hyoma.
Having experienced the beginning of the match, Team Z was now paying more attention to this pair of twins.
Before long, Wanima Keisuke was double-teamed by Kira Ryosuke and Isagi. One to press, one to tackle. They attempted to intercept the ball near the midfield to launch a counter-attack and find a chance to score.
The chemistry the Wanima brothers had from playing together since childhood helped them resolve this pressure.
"How many times do you think we brothers have faced this kind of defense?"
"That's what my big bro says."
Wanima Keisuke grinned, not even giving Kira a chance to get close before passing the ball diagonally. Wanima Junichi accelerated forward, as if he knew where the ball would land, accurately predicting the pass route and running to the spot in advance.
This was their strength. The experience of living together, playing together, training together, and competing together since they were young. It allowed their coordination to be almost perfect, achieving the effect of 1+1>2.
The tackle attempt by Kira and Isagi was instantly neutralized. The twin brothers continued to advance, their figures constantly crisscrossing, complementing each other while also providing cover for one another.
"Damn it, these twins are so annoying!"
Imamura Yudai left his position and rushed over directly. Seeing this, Junichi ran to the left. Seeing that his opponent was about to pass again, Imamura had no choice but to rush towards Junichi's position. But Keisuke didn't pass at all. He cut the ball, changed direction to get past another person, and advanced side-by-side with his older brother like two arrows.
Before long, they had charged into Team Z's territory along the wing and found Chigiri Hyoma.
"Hey, Chigiri."
"Does an ACL tear really hurt that much?"
Chigiri hadn't even made a move before Wanima Keisuke started provoking him with words. A few short words, yet they pierced Chigiri's heart like a sharp blade, stabbing him until he was covered in blood, forcing him to recall the pain of that year.
Tap~
Tap~
The Wanima brothers both smiled. With two passes, they left Chigiri completely in the dust.
"You bastard, Chigiri! What the hell are you doing?!"
Again and again. Even a righteous kid like Kunigami Rensuke couldn't help but flare up.
"What the hell do you think we're doing right now, you bastard!"
Raichi Jingo was even more furious.
"Get out of the way, you useless wimp of a young lady!"
He reached out and directly pushed Chigiri to the side, throwing him away like a piece of trash.
"Who are you calling a wimp!" Chigiri's fist tightened, but he still couldn't take that final step. His right leg felt as if it were shackled, and he couldn't break free.
From the moment he started playing football, his talent had been his pride. Football was a sport that competed on who had the higher talent. And he, being exceptionally talented, was destined to succeed. From elementary school to middle school, and then to high school, he had always relied on his talent to become a star-level player. That's why a year ago, right after joining the team, he had dared to challenge the Wanima brothers. Because his talent was stronger than that pair of twins.
And the facts were just as he had expected. The team's coach quickly saw his talent and changed the team's two-striker formation to a single-striker one with Chigiri at the head.
And then.
Tragedy struck.
He was injured in a match without any contact. After an examination, the doctor told him that if the ligament tore again, he would have to say goodbye to his playing career for good.
Chigiri Hyoma was scared. Scared of losing his talent and the weapon he was so proud of.
Sometimes he would think. Especially at moments like this, when he was dragging the team down. He would feel that, compared to having a little bit of hope, it would have been more straightforward to be told from the beginning that there was no hope at all.
Seeing that the Wanima brothers had already reached the edge of the penalty area, Chigiri knew that was the spot where they were best at scoring. He wanted to help the team, but he still didn't have the courage to take that step.
However.
Just as Wanima Junichi was about to complete the final step and shoot the ball into the goal, Tendou's figure violently burst into his field of vision.
Without a direct collision, he poked the ball away from the opponent's feet with the tip of his right foot, and with a smooth turn, he circled behind Wanima Junichi like a nimble snake. All of this happened in the span of a breath.
Chigiri looked over in astonishment, meeting Tendou's gaze again, and then he heard him speak.
"Which is more painful?"
"The failure after striving with all your might, or the regret left behind from never trying?"
"Don't wait until it's too late to regret why you weren't a little braver back then, you idiot!"
Hearing this, Chigiri's head exploded with a BOOM. At the same time, a massive flood of bullet comments appeared.
The real-world audience was moved by Tendou's philosophical lines.
'Tendou really is an angel! His personality is so good, even though he looks so cool!'
'Exactly, exactly! Not like that shark-tooth and hedgehog-head who only know how to yell at Chigiri! Don't cry, little Chigiri, mommy will hold you!'
'Is it possible that Tendou was just speaking from his heart? Is he also regretting why he didn't listen to his younger brother and play football with him back then? The "idiot" he's scolding is actually himself?'
'Huh? Are you f*cking sick? There's no knife, but you have to force one out for yourself to eat?'
'But… it's really possible! After all, Tendou switched to football because his brother died, and he even inherited his brother's data-based football.'
'Ah, this…'
The audience's imagination was as vast as the universe. They could turn something completely baseless into what seemed like a fact.
Tendou naturally had no time to look at the audience's over-imaginings. After saying what needed to be said, he transformed into a streak of white light and rushed out at high speed. Although he had already set up a persona for himself, this was his limit. If he continued to talk, his sense of shame would be off the charts!
"...What happens next has nothing to do with me!"
Swoosh!
Like a great gust of wind, it blew past, lifting Chigiri's long hair and revealing his delicate face.
Don't wait until it's too late to regret?
Chigiri suddenly had a thought. When he reached a certain age, he would have already left the field, become an honorable office worker, married an ordinary woman as his wife, and lived an ordinary life. Then one day, he would suddenly see these teammates on television, galloping across the green pitch, even becoming famous football stars... he would...
"I don't want that!" he roared in his heart. That was something he absolutely could not accept; even the thought of it was a terrifying nightmare.
CRACK!
The shackles that had been binding him suddenly showed a crack, and they began to shatter, bit by bit.
"I absolutely refuse to watch you guys with envious eyes!"
...
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