Chapter 13: I Am The Destroyer!

Chapter 13 - I Am The Destroyer! The sun rose once again, Haruma jogged down the road, his face set with determination, when suddenly his phone buzzed with a notification. He pulled out his phone and opened the notification, to see a social media post of Toru, where his entire team alongside Rukia and Masaru were partying. The caption reads, Celebrations for Semi Final. Haruma sighed before slipping the phone back into his pocket and continued his run... Inside his mother's room, Haruma gently held out a spoon full of soup to his mother's mouth, which she ate with a soft smile. He then refilled the spoon and waited patiently for her to finish. Once finished the mother looks at Haruma with a bright smile. "I'm so happy for you! I can't believe you guys made it into semi's" She said, her tone brimming with joy, "I just can't imagine how happy and proud you all must be!" Haruma stayed quiet, his expressions tightened with unease, "Happy?" he thought to himself, confusion clouding his mind. Noticing his expressions, The mother asked gently, "What's wrong Haruma?" His eyes snapped to her, and with a forced smile he replied, "Nothing." The mother then quickly took the bowl from his hands, and said, "You should get ready, you don't want to be late for the semi's." Haruma gave her a faint nod before standing up and leaving the room without another word, leaving his mother puzzled... Moments later, Haruma stood shirtless inside the bathroom, his hands gripping the edges of the washbasin for support, his head lowered in silence. He lifted his head up, and stared at his reflection in the mirror, his face blank and emotionless. "Why am I not happy?" he wondered, thoughts spiraling in his mind. "Mother's right... I should be happy! My team is doing great, and It looks like we'll easily win this tournament, and as a part of the team I should be proud... I should feel happy." "But why can't I feel any joy or excitement!" He clenched his eyes shut, his face tightening with frustration. After a moment he opened them again and looked at his reflection once again. "Am I really jealous of Toru?" "Am I really jealous of his success?" "Am I jealous of my own team's success?" Disappointment washed over him, before he closed his eyes and lowered his face once again, a wave of self-hatred began consuming him, pulling him into suffocating darkness. "No!" His determined voice rang out, cutting through the darkness. "I won't let myself become like this!" "I'm not jealous of anyone!" "I'll help my team in any way I can. I'll give my best in whatever role the team requires from me, even if it's just being a water boy! I'll do my best for them!" His fist clenched tightly, as he remained standing firmly... Inside the dressing room of the stadium, The Hanaka players were geared up, with Toru firing them up with motivational words while some were doing their warm ups, Masaru was nearby, stretching his legs. Suddenly the dressing room door swung open and Haruma burst in, wearing casual clothes, sweat dripping down his face, gasping for air. All eyes were fixed on him with confusion. "Haruma?" Toru called out casually, "Where were you? Why did you miss the bus?" he asked, his tone curious. Haruma walked in saying, "I'm really sorry," quickly opening the locker, he started changing into his training jersey. Hanaka boys were looking at him with confused eyes, before returning to what they were doing. The stadium was alive with energy, packed with roaring crowds, the atmosphere was buzzing with electrifying energy, flags of both schools being waved proudly, both opposing crowds singing anthems of their school which was blending with the electric buzz of excitement. From the opposite end of the field, both teams emerged, led by their captains which were greeted by the thunderous cheers from the crowds. Haruma stood among the benched players, and this time he was watching the game on his feets, clapping for the team alongside other benched players. Both coaches stood tall, appearing ready for the game, as players from both teams moved into their positions. Haruma's anticipated eyes remained fixed on the game, clapping for them, Yet, his heartbeat raced unevenly, his jaw was clenched tight. Still he kept clapping, determined to support his team. The ball was set in the middle, and with the referee's whistle the game kicked off, with Hanaka boys getting the possession, driving the action forward. The ball was passed to one of the Hanaka players who took a second to scan the field before quickly passing to Masaru. Masaru controlled the ball and began pushing forward, noticing an opposing player ahead he passed the ball to Shino, who collected the ball with ease and began rushing forward, noticing Toru racing towards the nets with an incredible speed, a confident smile appeared on Shino's face who prepared himself for the, but just as he was about to, an opposing player blocked his way. Reacting quickly Shino attempted a dribble, but he messed up the dribble, losing control of the ball. Stunned, Shino was looking at the ball which was almost out of his control, "F*ck! How could I mess that up!" he cursed himself in his mind. The opposing player slid his feet in for a tackle but, he too messed up, fumbling the attempt. Shino's eyes snapped open in focus, and in an instant, he seized the moment, regaining control of the ball, scanning the field he saw Toru surrounded by a couple of defenders, quickly trying to find someone else he saw Masaru in a perfect position to score, without a second thought, he sent the ball towards Masaru Masaru, with a confident smile collected the ball, earning a big wave of cheers from crowds. Locking his eyes on the nets ahead, Masaru swung his foot at the ball, but suddenly a defender's leg appeared, blocking his shot. Without missing a beat Masaru faked the shot, moving the ball more to his left for a clearer angle. With a confident smirk, Masaru swung his foot, striking the ball with all his might. Just as the ball flew, another foot of the defender came successfully blocking the shot! Masaru's eyes shot open in utter disbelief, as he quickly side eyed the defender, to find out that both blocks had come from the same player! The first attempt came from the defender's right foot, and for the second successful attempt, his left foot was shot out all the way to right, covering a massive distance from behind his right leg, blocking the shot while his right foot stayed grounded providing support. The defender's posture was unreal, standing in an insane, almost impossible defensive stance, a block that left Masaru frozen in awe. The crowds from Hanaka were stunned, their jaws dropped in shock. The players from Hanaka watched the scene with disbelief, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed. Haruma stood frozen, his eyes wide with shock, unable to process what he had just seen. Rukia and her friends were equally stunned, their eyes wide and jaw dropped, disbelief written all over their faces. The ball went flying backwards with the opposing team taking control and began moving towards the goal. The tall, athletic defender who pulled that unbelievable stop, stood with a calm aura, his serious determined eyes locked on the game ahead, While Masaru stood frozen next to him, both facing opposite directions. Drenched in sweat, Masaru slowly turned to the defender, still in shock, but the defender didn't look at him. After a tense moment the defender slowly turned to Masaru, their eyes meeting. Masaru was looking at him, gasping for air, his chest heavy, while the defender's sharp and firm gaze remained fixed on him. "I am Kazutora Inuzuka" The defender began in a cold tone, "Remember this name... you trash!" Masaru was gazing at Kazutora with his wide shocked eyes, fear was clearly visible in his eyes. Kazutora then walks away from him, leaving Masaru still standing there, who was overwhelmed by the terrifying aura of that man.