Everyone finished their breakfast.
Ryan wiped his mouth with a napkin, tossed it into the trash can, then stood up.
"Alright, let's go.
What now?
Nap?
Rest?
Training?"
He waved toward Isagi's trio.
"See you at noon, Isagi, Nagi."
He turned to leave
"Wait, Ryan."
Isagi stood up and called out.
Ryan paused mid-step, turned back.
"Hah?
What is it?
Don't tell me…
Isagi, have you finally succumbed to your fluttering heart and want to confess to me?"
He made a theatrical gesture.
"If you'd picked a less crowded place I might've considered it, but there's too many people.
I'm shy, you know.
So rejected."
Isagi ignored the nonsense and met Ryan's gaze head-on, eyes firm and unwavering like someone about to join a political party.
"No.
I want to fight you.
I want to challenge you.
I want to see how far apart we really are."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
The joking smile on Ryan's face vanished.
He walked toward Isagi slowly, each step echoing, towering over him until Isagi was in his shadow.
Up close, Isagi couldn't even see Ryan's expression.
He swallowed hard.
He hadn't seen Ryan serious in a long time.
Ever since the tag game, the Ryan he knew had been childish, unserious, playful, teasing, narcissistic, arrogant yet oddly reliable.
But now he remembered
The real Ryan was the king who dominated that field.
A man who would never allow anyone to challenge his throne.
Isagi felt his knees wanting to buckle.
He feared Ryan might punch him straight in the face at any second.
Ryan raised his hand slowly
Isagi braced
And then
Ryan placed his hand on Isagi's shoulder.
Isagi blinked, confused.
He'd expected anger.
Not… this.
He finally saw Ryan's face clearly
and the expression was full of pride.
Like a parent watching their child grow.
"Not bad, Isagi.
I thought you'd never dare challenge me.
Back then you were just some weakling at the bottom of the rankings.
And now you've grown enough to stand in front of me.
You've really come far."
Isagi felt relief wash over him
But then Ryan's expression snapped cold.
"But don't celebrate too soon."
That cold voice made Isagi's spine stiffen.
"I don't hold back.
Let me see just how much you've really improved.
I'll be using my full power.
Try not to disappoint me."
Isagi's heartbeat thudded in his chest.
Then Ryan suddenly returned to his usual bright tone, laughing as he slapped Isagi's shoulder.
"Relax a little.
We'll fight after the 24-hour cooldown.
I'm seriously looking forward to it, Isagi.
Do your best."
He turned and walked off, leading Chigiri, Kunigami, and Aryu away.
Isagi finally exhaled the breath he'd been holding.
Bachira watched him.
"You looked like you were about to pee your pants, dude.
Is Ryan really that scary?
He's ranked first, sure, but I don't think the gap between us is that huge."
Isagi shook his head immediately.
"No.
We've never even seen his full power.
What he showed before was just the tip of the iceberg."
Bachira nodded.
"Yeah!
We've never seen the real him.
Just thinking about fighting him has me all fired up!"
Nagi added calmly:
"Talking won't help.
You'll see when it happens."
Bachira gaped.
"Dude, you're making him sound like the final boss.
Can we really beat him?"
But Isagi, Bachira, and Nagi all had the same fire in their eyes
"We know how strong he is.
That's why we want to defeat him with everything we have."
A little ways away
Chigiri glanced at Ryan, unable to hold back his question any longer.
" Ryan… you're really going to use full power against Isagi?
Is that okay?"
Ryan shrugged.
"Why not?
He challenged me.
The least I can do is answer him seriously."
Kunigami silently recalled last night's training…
The version of Ryan they saw then
They couldn't even lay a hand on him.
It was like all three of them combined weren't even close.
Last Night
Ryan had already tested the skills he mimicked from pro players.
He didn't want Kunigami and the others going full force this wasn't a death match, just practice.
But seeing how much strength they still had left…
Ryan suddenly got an idea.
A very bad idea.
He smiled.
"Hey… want to see what the outside world is like?"
Chigiri, Kunigami, and Aryu froze.
The way he looked at them
He didn't look human.
He looked like a devil tempting them.
Chigiri swallowed.
"Outside world?
What do you mean?"
Ryan spread his arms like he was preaching to the heavens.
"I mean the kind of power you don't often see around here.
The kind of power that shows up on the biggest stages of world football."
His voice slithered into their ears like a demon whispering forbidden knowledge.
"Don't you want to see it for yourselves?
Or are you content staying where things are familiar?"
Against their better judgment
They all nodded.
And that decision
was the biggest mistake of their lives.
Because what they saw next
made them question whether the person in front of them
could truly still be called human.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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