Chapter 55: Insignificant
"Seen through, huh." Bachira chased after Kira, who had stolen the ball and was driving forward wildly.
What Bachira didn't know was that after using Bachira's Attribute Trial Cards several times, Kira had become thoroughly familiar with Bachira's dribbling habits and movements. If Bachira didn't change things up, he wouldn't be able to get past Kira in this match.
"Stop him, Isagi!" Isagi had already abandoned marking Rin and moved to cover.
Kira dribbled the ball, constantly observing his surroundings. 'At this point, if I just pass to Rin, scoring would be easy, right?'
'Huh?' Kira glanced over and found Itoshi Rin standing motionless in the midfield, as if the match before him was mere child's play. 'Bro, move a little, will you?'
Kira gave up on Rin as an option. On the other side, Aryu had made a supporting run, closely followed by the ever-present Chigiri. Aryu was marked tightly too.
'Pass to him?'
'No!'
'Of course, go it alone!'
Isagi caught up to Kira. "You're not getting past me!!" Isagi set his stance, determined to stop Kira here.
The movement at Kira's feet accelerated. Isagi focused entirely on Kira's lower body. 'Whether he breaks through from the left or right, the angle of Kira's foot will definitely change, his center of gravity will shift. Seize that moment. Steal the ball.'
However. Suddenly, Kira clamped the ball between his feet and flicked it high into the air. The ball immediately sailed over Isagi's head. Simultaneously, Kira's body abruptly accelerated sharply, blowing past Isagi.
'What? A Rainbow Flick!' The move Kira had previously replicated from Baro made an appearance.
Isagi's heart filled with regret. 'How could I forget Kira could do this?' Turning around, he was utterly unable to stop Kira, who was now one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
After passing Isagi, Kira didn't hesitate in the slightest. He raised his foot.
Boom!
GOAL!
The Red Team scored first.
1-0, Red Team takes the lead.
The Blue Lock Man couldn't stop Kira's shot.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't stop him!" Isagi apologized.
"It's fine. He's Kira Ryousuke, after all. How could we stop him so easily?" The fighting spirit in Bachira's eyes only grew stronger.
"Yo, a very stylish goal," Aryu gave a thumbs-up from afar in appreciation.
Itoshi Rin just glanced over and showed no reaction. 'So aloof, this guy,' Kira inwardly complained, but still happily ran back to his own half and high-fived Aryu.
"What's there to be happy about scoring a goal at that level..."
"And the opponents are players of that caliber. It's simply child's play," Rin offered his evaluation.
Kira inwardly: ???
'Fine, you're strong, you make sense.' Kira chose to shut up and not argue with him.
"Answer them with a goal!" Chigiri shouted to Isagi, who nodded.
The match continued. They had come this far; they couldn't give up this match just because Kira was on the other side.
"Go, Bachira." Isagi still passed the ball to Bachira, who had just been thwarted.
Upon receiving the ball, Bachira instantly understood Isagi's intention—they had been teammates long enough. Bachira immediately drove forward with the ball, pretending he would try to break through Kira's side again.
'A Wall Pass!' The perfect chemistry between Isagi and Bachira.
After passing to Bachira, Isagi immediately accelerated. Without even looking, Bachira played a through pass.
"You intended to pass here, right?!" But Kira wasn't fooled at all. The moment Bachira received the ball, Kira had judged their intention.
'After Bachira's dribbling failed to get past me, there's only one possibility for Isagi to still pass to this side: they're attempting a wall pass.'
Therefore, Kira's body had already started moving towards Isagi's intended running path from the beginning. A single, well-timed foot intercepted the pass. The ball was kicked out of bounds.
Itoshi Rin glanced at Kira with slight surprise. "You seem to understand them quite well."
"Well, we've played so many matches together," Kira replied eagerly, glad that the aloof guy had initiated a conversation.
"I see…" Rin said, averting his gaze from Kira.
"Seen through again." Bachira wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking at Kira talking to Rin.
'When we were teammates, I never felt how terrifying Kira was. Now this sense of pressure is overwhelming, pressing down on me until I can barely breathe.'
But Bachira's eyes grew even more excited. 'As expected. Only by facing Kira is there a chance to evolve.'
Isagi took the throw-in. He placed the ball at his feet, his gaze serious as he assessed the situation on the field.
'Bachira's side is temporarily not an option for breakthroughs. Kira knows the two of us too well. So the only remaining solution... must be the other side.'
Boom.
Isagi passed towards Chigiri's direction. The pass was deliberately aimed a certain distance in front of Chigiri, specifically to make Chigiri and his defender race for it. With Chigiri's speed, the probability of him getting the ball was almost 100%.
Sure enough. As soon as the ball was passed, Chigiri immediately accelerated, leaving Aryu behind.
"Beautiful! Chigiri, go!" Bachira shouted encouragingly from not far away.
Chigiri's eyes were also filled with determination at this moment. 'Since no one else can break the deadlock, let my speed be the solution!'
However, the next second, something the White Team never expected happened.
A foot appeared in mid-air, reaching in front of Chigiri from behind, intercepting the ball in the air.
It was none other than Aryu, hanging suspended in the air.
Chigiri's eyes widened. 'This guy was behind me! How could his foot reach in front of me? These long limbs are just cheating!'
"This airspace is my territory. And I just need to... pass the ball before your speed catches up!" After intercepting the ball, without even stabilizing his posture, Aryu sent a long pass. The ball flew straight towards Kira in the front field.
'This terrifying core strength!'
"Stop him! Bachira!!!"
Bachira and Kira both accelerated towards the ball's landing point simultaneously.
"Fortunately, Bachira is slightly ahead. Kira can't reach this ball," Isagi concluded from his observation.
Bachira thought the same.
But if Kira couldn't reach this ball, he wouldn't be Kira.
Under Bachira's astonished gaze, Kira leaped into the air. In mid-air, he controlled the ball perfectly with the outside of his right foot.
'What is this? Nagi's trapping ability!'
Although the presentation wasn't as exaggerated as Nagi's, and he didn't jump as high, it was just enough. Precisely enough to reach the ball.
Kira's heart also pounded with a hint of fear. 'That was close.'
'This was the first time I had attempted to mimic Nagi's trapping in a real match. I just haven't absorbed enough from Nagi yet. Nagi's trapping ability is built on control over every part of his body, even every muscle. I've only used it once; my understanding isn't deep enough, so it still looks a bit ordinary when I perform it.'
'But now. Just barely reaching it is enough!'
"Don't let him shoot!" Gritting his teeth, Bachira launched a sliding tackle the moment Kira landed and prepared to shoot.
This sliding tackle was risky. If he didn't cleanly get the ball and took Kira down instead, it could easily be a foul. But at this moment, Bachira couldn't care less. He had to make a move; otherwise, they would concede another goal.
As if he knew Bachira's tackle was coming, Kira actually canceled his shooting motion abruptly. He pulled the ball sideways. Bachira slid through empty space.
Kira immediately aimed his left foot at the goal.
A left-footed shot!!!
Bachira never dreamed that Kira's left foot could also shoot.
Boom.
The ball flew accurately into the net.
GOAL!
Another goal.
Red Team leads 2–0.
This was Kira utilizing the insights gained from using Kunigami's Trial Card, comprehending left-footed shooting. Although the power wasn't yet on par with Kunigami's, it was more than enough to beat the robot keeper.
This scene made Isagi question himself.
'Can we really win?'
'Can we win against a Kira like this?'
Isagi stared blankly at Kira's back after he scored.
Kira's figure seemed immensely large in his eyes, while he himself felt as small and insignificant as an ant.
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