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墨書 Inktalez
Time flew by swiftly. Soon, the day arrived for the match against Wild Junior High. The members of Raimon boarded the school bus and headed into the deep mountains. After getting off the bus, they couldn't help but marvel at their surroundings.
"Is this Wild Junior High?"
"How cool!"
Wild Junior High, true to its name, was nestled deep within a jungle, filled with the essence of nature all around.
"This is my first time seeing a waterfall."
"There’s even a log bridge up there!"
"Wow, everything here feels so untouched!"
The First Year students engaged in lively discussions, except for Bishan, who was too nervous to pay attention even after getting off the bus. Just then…
‘Clunk clunk.’
Natsumi's car made a strange noise. Everyone turned to see a group of animals jumping on and off Natsumi's vehicle. Upon closer inspection, they realized that these were not animals but students from Wild Junior High.
"This is my first time seeing a car."
"There are four wheels on it!"
"Wow, it's all mechanical inside!"
Watching them, Shiki blurted out, "Wow, are all the students from Wild Junior High this unique?"
As soon as he said that, a student resembling a snake turned to look at him. A pair of serpent-like eyes fixed on Shiki. Startled, Shiki quickly darted behind Miki and Otonashi.
"Tsk, coward," Natsumi scoffed.
Entering the soccer field, the students from Wild Junior High had already gathered outside, cheering for their team.
Shiki exclaimed, "Aren't those just ordinary humans wearing Wild Junior High uniforms?"
Natsumi retorted, "Isn't that perfectly normal?!"
Endou was already immersed in the cheers of the enthusiastic crowd; after all, this was his first match that could truly be called a competition. The first was against the terrifying Empire, and the second was against the fearsome Oni Gari Dou, although the terror of Oni Gari Dou was different from that of the Empire. Because of this, both matches had very few spectators, and even if there were some, there would be no cheers.
Even though the cheers weren't directed at his own team, Endou still felt fired up. "I want to do my best for those who are cheering for us!"
Kazemaru quipped, "It's all for Wild Junior High, isn't it?"
Someoka chimed in with a sarcastic remark, "What kind of support group would a weak team like us have?"
Endou proudly pointed to the side. "Of course we have one! Look over there!"
There stood three little kids shouting, "Go Raimon Junior High School!"
Brother Bishan raised a cheer stick high and shouted, "Brother! I'm here to cheer for you!"
Friend A added, "You can defeat the Empire!"
Friend B exclaimed, "Your brother is amazing!"
Every word spoken by Brother Bishan and his friends piled immense pressure on Bishan. Their words felt like a mountain pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe. Bishan's expression turned uneasy.
Shiki noticed this change and stepped forward to pat Bishan on the back. "Just focus on playing; don't forget that we’re right behind you during the match!"
"Senior Yae..."
"During the match, you should be in front of me," Shiki said as he playfully punched Bishan on the head.
The first match of the Tomorrow's Star Football Tournament regional preliminaries officially began. Raimon Junior High School vs. Wild Junior High. Raimon kicked off.
Shiki took the ball and ran forward. However, three opponents quickly appeared to block Shiki's advance.
Shiki couldn't help but gasp internally, thinking, 'So fast!' The three opponents in front of him took turns trying to steal the ball, but with his strong ball control skills, Shiki held his ground against all three.
At that moment, the captain of Wild Junior High, Jijing, urged his teammates, "Hurry up and take the ball from him! The coach said if we win, we can have unlimited snacks!"
Upon hearing this, Shiki immediately had an idea. He told the three players guarding him, "Look over to our resting area. There's a rich young lady there. If we win for Raimon Junior High School, it won't just be one round of unlimited snacks; we could have ten or even twenty rounds!"
The eyes of the three players lit up instantly.
"Ten rounds!"
"Twenty rounds!!"
"So many!"
Watching the Wild Junior High players still counting on their fingers, Shiki seized the opportunity and dashed through a gap, continuing his charge toward the opponent's goal.
"I've been tricked!"
"Tricked!"
"City folks are so sly!"
The three deceived players hurried back to defend against Shiki. At that moment, two more opponents appeared in front of him, making it five players surrounding Shiki.
"Isn't this a bit too many around me?" he thought. "Although it's a shame to only dribble this far, it's enough. It's your turn now, Goenji!"
With that, he kicked the ball toward Goenji.
"Cloud Piercing Arrow!"
The ball transformed into an arrow and shot high into the sky at incredible speed. Goenji leaped up and struck a pose for Blazing Tornado.
Outside the field, Giraffe Kuita shouted excitedly, "That's..."
"The combined ultimate move that scored against Teikoku before!!"
"It looks like Raimon Junior High School is about to score!"
Just as everyone thought so, a shadow appeared above Goenji.
"A shadow... Could it be?"
Goenji turned around to find someone had suddenly appeared behind him where there had been no one before. It was none other than Jijing, the captain of Wild Junior High's soccer team.
Jijing's face was dark as he said, "You underestimated me!"
Shiki exclaimed, "What!!"
"When did he get over there?"
Originally on the right side, Jijing had now appeared on the left. Moreover, having jumped later, he surpassed Goenji's height. With his feet clamped around Shiki's lethal pass, he executed a backflip and neutralized it effortlessly. Then, he tossed the ball into the air.
The ball landed at Forward Mizukawaji's feet. Mizukawaji, moving at incredible speed, dodged Maeda, slipped past Shaolin Temple, and even shook off Kazemaru. Approaching the goal, he chose not to shoot but instead passed to his teammate—Eagle.
Eagle leaped high, diving like an eagle.
"Diving Eagle!"
The ball flew straight towards the right side of the goal. Just as Endou prepared to defend, a gorilla swung in from nowhere, grabbing a vine and delivering a powerful kick to the soccer ball.
"Taishan Divine Kick!"
This coordinated effort forcibly altered the ball's trajectory, sending it toward the left side of the goal. Deceived by the movement to the right, Endou couldn't use Golden Palm in time and had to resort to Hot-Blooded Fist, narrowly deflecting it away.
The ball then landed in front of Kazemaru. He looked at the players from Wild Junior High and couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
'Is this what it takes to compete at a national level? Despite all the intense training, there's still such a huge gap.'
Shiki called out to Kazemaru, "Kazemaru, pass!"
Hearing Shiki's shout snapped Kazemaru back to reality; he pushed those thoughts aside and initiated the attack. A long pass sent the ball rolling to Shiki's feet.
As soon as Shiki received the ball, he was instantly surrounded by three opponents.
Shiki awkwardly chuckled, "Hey hey hey!"
"What's with this? I was just joking; do you really need to keep your eyes glued on me?"
They replied firmly, "No joking about snacks!"
"Absolutely not!"
Shiki clicked his tongue in annoyance. Someoka shouted, "Yae, over here!"
Shiki immediately passed the ball to Someoka.
At the moment Someoka received the ball, he unleashed the Azure Dragon Roar, hoping for an unexpected play. "Azure Dragon..."
But then, an accident occurred.
"Super Armadillo!"
The Lion King spun his body and charged straight at Someoka. The powerful impact sent Someoka flying out of bounds, crashing into the barrier at the edge of the field.
"Someoka!!"
The members of Raimon rushed over to assess Someoka's injuries. After a thorough examination, they concluded that Someoka had dislocated his left foot. Forced to leave the game, he was replaced by Tsumon, wearing number 13.
Due to Dyeing Tank's early exit, Raimon decided to change their formation. Tsumon took over Bishan's position as Defender, while Bishan moved up front to replace Someoka.
Bishan nervously exclaimed, "Why am I being moved to the front?!"
Shiki replied, "Originally, I was positioned with Someoka and Goenji as three Forwards, but our tactical options were already limited. With Dyeing Tank leaving early, our choices have become even fewer. Someoka and Goenji could use Dragon Tornado."
"And I can use Cloud Piercing Arrow to set up a play with either Someoka or Goenji. Alternatively, Goenji and I could execute a less-than-perfect High Altitude Thunder Strike Shot."
"Now that Someoka is out, we’ve lost Dragon Tornado. Plus, with three defenders on me, I can't coordinate with Goenji. That leaves just you and Goenji for the High Altitude Thunder Strike Shot."
After saying this, Shiki looked at Bishan and gave him a thumbs-up. "In any case... you got this!"
Bishan was left in a state of despair, feeling petrified.
The match resumed with Wild Junior High kicking off. Eagle tossed the ball to midfield player Chunya, who took possession and sprinted towards Raimon's goal.
At that moment, Tsumon confronted Chunya. "Tackle Master!"
With a beautifully executed tackle, Tsumon reclaimed the ball just twenty seconds after Wild Junior High had gained possession.
As Tsumon showcased his impressive skills, only two players on the field displayed unusual emotions: Goenji and Endou.
Goenji thought to himself upon witnessing the move, 'That's an Imperial technique!' His opinion of Tsumon shifted slightly.
Endou simply felt that his new teammate was amazing.
Having regained possession, Tsumon immediately passed the ball to Bishan and Goenji.
Tsumon shouted, "Let me see what you’ve trained for, Bishan and Goenji!"
Both jumped simultaneously; however, behind Goenji was Wild Junior High's Jijing.
In the end, Bishan's fear caused him to falter, preventing Goenji from landing properly for a second jump.
The two of them fell to the ground together.
Friend A and B exclaimed, “Saku's brother is so lame!”
Only Brother Bishan continued to gaze at Bishan with unwavering determination.
The first half of the match ended with a score of 0-0.
Although it seemed like a tie on the surface, the reality was that the game was very unfavorable for Raimon.
Due to Bishan's fear of heights, he was unable to execute the High Altitude Thunder Strike Shot, significantly reducing the defensive pressure on Wild Junior High.
As a result, Wild Junior High shifted their strategy to focus on offense, launching frequent and aggressive attacks.
This left Raimon's midfield and defense struggling to cope, exhausting most of their stamina.
Even Shiki, who played as a Forward, had to drop back and join the defensive lineup.
Despite Shiki returning to the backline, things did not improve for Raimon Junior High School.
During the break, the defenders and midfielders collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath; even Tsumon, a player from the former empire team, looked somewhat fatigued.
However, there was one exception: Shiki.
He was the only player breathing steadily, even having enough energy to help other managers distribute water and towels.
If it weren't for everyone witnessing Shiki playing on the field, they would have thought he had just arrived.
Endou looked at the exhausted team and began a morale-boosting speech.
He cheerfully said, “You all did great!”
Dyeing Tank replied somewhat reluctantly, “What are you talking about? We've been getting crushed.”
Endou countered, “But we managed to hold our own against such a strong team! That proves we’re pretty good too, right?”
“I won’t let them score in the second half either, and it’s up to you two—Goenji and Bishan—to score!”
“…”
“Please switch me to Defender.”
Endou looked puzzled. “Bishan?”
Bishan clenched his fists and lowered his head. “If you think I can’t do it, please take me off the field.”
He shook his head frantically. “I can’t do it; I can’t execute the High Altitude Thunder Strike Shot. Please don’t pass the ball to me anymore.”
Shiki spoke up, “Then just sit out; Minoru, go warm up first.”
Everyone exclaimed in surprise, “Huh?!”
Hearing Bishan's remarks, Shiki couldn't hold back any longer. He grabbed Bishan by the collar and shouted, "What the hell is going on? It's really pissing me off! Have you seen anyone on the team scolding you after all those failures? No one has complained about your mistakes; everyone believes in you. And what do we get in return?"
"Is it just come and go as you please?"
Endou called out, "Yae!"
But Shiki ignored Endou and continued to address Bishan, "What? Do you really think the court is a place where you can just step on and off whenever you want?"
"Are you looking down on Minoru, who is just a substitute?"
Bishan weakly retorted, "I didn't..."
Shiki pointed at Minoru. "You clearly don't care about Minoru. If you really did, you wouldn't casually say you want to leave the game."
"Minoru was once a regular player, and now he's been reduced to a substitute. Shouldn't you play well for his sake? He might not even get a chance to touch the ball in this match."
"And you..."
"You, who have the opportunity to touch the ball throughout the game, are planning to leave just because you lack the courage to cooperate."
"Then go ahead and leave. After you're gone, make sure to watch your three little fans from the sidelines. You should know that you've disappointed them."
Endou and Kazemaru couldn't take it anymore and stepped in to stop Shiki. "Yae! You're going too far!"
It was only when Shiki felt a hand on his shoulder that he calmed down.
"…"
"I'm sorry... I need to cool off."
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving behind a tense atmosphere.
---
Shiki placed his head under the running faucet, letting the water wash over him continuously.
"In the end, it'll still be Captain Shot leading us; even if I run ahead, I won't touch the ball."
"You'll definitely score the most points in our matches; you'll probably be the one scoring all the points!"
"The captain can win against opponents all by himself; we ten others are just decorations..."
"He can score alone as a Forward and intercept every ball as a Defender; even I, as a goalkeeper, feel useless!"
"Even when I'm on the field, I feel like I'm just a substitute."
"Anyway, even if we get on the field, those outside will only pay attention to the captain."
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't bother going to practice tomorrow; there's a new arcade opened near school. Let's go together!"
"I'm fed up with you."
"Whatever can't keep up with me should just train harder. Don't say things that make it sound like I'm just slacking off."
"I've tried my best, but I just can't keep up with you!"
"We're not like you; you're a true genius, and we're just ordinary people."
"Don't hold us to the standards of a genius!!!"
"Get out..."
"I said get out, get out..."
"But I... no, we, we're all unhappy."
"As a Forward, Shot isn't as good as me..."
"As a Defender, even intercepting the ball isn't as good as me..."
"We don't need useless people, just leave!"
"What are you lingering around for? You're not welcome here."
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-(Words from Author Gulu)-
I apologize for the long wait. Here's some good news.
The good news is that there will be another chapter tomorrow, around three thousand words.
After finishing the main plot, I realized there was enough content to split it into two chapters.
After refining it, the word count increased again, making it possible to split it further.
But in the end, I decided to keep it as two parts so you can enjoy more content.
That's it; love you all.
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