April 11th 2025
"YES!" Coach Suganuma screams.
Ren falls to the ground, distraught.
'no... that was my goal...'
Morita looks back at Ren, a sad look on his face, then he mumbles.
"Why didn't you score it?"
'I can score again... 3 have already been scored in the first 10 minutes!... Right?'
Ren looks around, seeing everyone going back to their kickoff position, bar Fujimura whos talking to the goalkeeper.
'Just me being a CAM makes it so much harder for me to score. It also isnt my natural position so I'm playing worse... I need the ball more!... But how?'
Fujimura finishes his conversation with the goalkeeper and walks back, Ren does the same.
Morita kicks the ball to Hayashi as the whistle sounds.
'I need to up my positioning to an insane degree, after all the greatest tactician is better than the greatest "Brute Force" player, one who relies on his own skill to score.'
Osaka pass it around their back line for a minute. Endo gets the ball and crosses it downfield to Itoshi.
Ren scans for openings in the Kyoto formation. Tanaka loosely marks Ren. Fujimura is glued to Morita. Silva tightly marks Hayashi.
Ren analyses, wondering where he can get through...
He notices the Fujimura watches Morita and Itoshi, while Silva watches Hayashi and Itoshi.
'There! I just need to time my run well!'
He waits for half a second... He darts off! Peeling off Tanaka, he slides behind Fujimura, and Silva notices too late.
"ITOSHI!" Ren screams.
Itoshi reads it and lobs a through ball straight to Ren. Ren receives the ball hard but barely manages to control it, slowing him down a bit... Enough time for Saito to close in!
'If I cut right Nganga will be able to tackle the ball off of me... If I slide left then Kubo will be able to tackle me, I'm not winning against those two... Could I nutmeg? No... I see Kaito Endo running back... Guess my only option is this!'
Ren lobs the ball into the air, it lands at Itoshi's feet.
"Thank you!"
Itoshi runs through, Kaito Endo tries to track back, but Itoshi has blazed past him.
Itoshi is one on one with the goalkeeper. Ren is covered with bodies, two holding him back.
'I want to win this! We won't win this if I'm not striker... So get off me!!'
Ren forces himself out of their grasp, he charges down.
"Pass!" Ren shouts out.
The keeper's come off his line to challenge Itoshi. Itoshi Passes it across the goal, a simple tap-in or Ren.
He boots it in, but Matsumoto screams, "NOOOO!".
The ball is on the line...
-
Just as Itoshi passed it, Matsumoto had superhuman reaction time and leaped with all his power.
-
Ren sees Matsumoto, his face red
He might get this!
Ren jabs his foot out for a more powerful strike...
But before his foot could get there Matsumoto hit the ball with his fist!
The ball slams off the left post, flies to the right post and goes out!
'No...!"
Ren flies into the net.
The ball lands at Kubo's feet, he tries to clear it...
Morita slide tackles him! Morita controls the ball.
3 defenders surround Morita.
Morita sombrero flicks it back over his head, jumps up and spins 180 degrees. He forms his body into doing a scissor kick...
He whacks the ball with all his power.
"MORITA SCISSOR KICK!!!!"
The ball is going top bins.
"NOT NOW!" Matsumoto screams, his big frame leaping.
His fingertips touch the ball, hitting it onto the crossbar.
It starts to fall to the ground.
'Now!'
Ren slides out of the net, going for a scissor kick of his own.
Matsumoto turns upside down, and propels himself down by jumping off of the crossbar. He grabs the ball before Ren can hit it in.
'What...'