The stadium was full but the crowd felt uneasy
Not because of noise
But the lack of it
The opposing team
Officially listed as "Kurogane SC"
Entered the field with military precision
No warm-up
No smiles
No talking
Each player wore jet black kits
No names
Only numbers
And at the back
Their coach stood like a shadow
Kanade
His expression calm
His eyes like razors
---
In the locker room
Coach Hiroshi laid out the usual plan
But Reiji wasn't looking at the board
He was tying his laces slowly
Tighter than usual
His fingers shaking ever so slightly
Leo nudged him
"Yo
You good?"
Reiji nodded
"I have to be
They don't play football
They perform execution"
---
Kickoff
Within seconds
Something was wrong
Kurogane didn't press
Didn't defend
Didn't chase
They floated
They drifted just enough to block angles
They stood in places that made passes feel dangerous
They never reacted
Only absorbed
It felt like Vortex was playing against mannequins
But every mistake was punished
Minute 8
Kaito passed forward
But the pass bent wrong
Intercepted without motion
Counter
Goal
0–1
The crowd blinked
That's how quiet the strike was
---
Coach Hiroshi screamed from the sidelines
"Don't fall for it
They're not reacting
They're pre-positioning!"
But it was no use
Kurogane didn't attack with the ball
They attacked with presence
By minute 25
Reiji knew
They were using Positional Muting
A technique Kanade once tried to force on him
A style where players kill tempo
By refusing to invite pressure
By making themselves not worth marking
Until they snap without warning
---
Vortex couldn't adjust
They were used to rhythm
Used to chaos
But Kurogane offered neither
Only a vacuum
Then minute 31
Another goal
A tap-in that felt like it came from a chess move made 15 turns ago
0–2
---
Halftime
Vortex sat in silence
Reiji paced
Muttering to himself
Tracing steps with his boots on the tile floor
Leo was sweating
"I don't get it
They're not even trying
Why does it feel like we're drowning?"
Reiji stopped walking
"Because they're playing underwater
And we're still trying to breathe air"
---
He walked to the board
Erased all lines
Then drew six circles
"We're going to break the tempo ourselves
We'll move in diagonals only
Never pass twice in the same direction
If they want stillness
We give them spirals"
---
Second half
Reiji launched chaos
He moved to the backline
Dictating verticals
Pulling defenders out of their death-trap zones
Creating misalignments
Minute 52
Leo dropped to midfield
Dragged his marker
Reiji chipped a reverse ball over the line
Kaito smashed it in
1–2
---
But Kurogane didn't flinch
They just…adjusted
Like a camera lens focusing
Minute 60
They mirrored Vortex's new pattern
Baited Reiji into overcommitting
Stole the ball
Counter
Goal
1–3
---
Final whistle
Vortex lost
Not because they were worse
But because they weren't unreadable anymore
Reiji stood still on the field
Breathing hard
Across from him
Kanade nodded once
Then left without a word
---
In the locker room
Everyone looked to Reiji
He didn't apologize
Didn't look broken
Just calm
"This isn't defeat
It's calibration
Now we know the depth of their silence
So next time
We bring sound"