Chapter 51: Strategy and Fury

Chapter 51: Strategy and FuryWith a fierce roar, Jiho fired the shot! blasting the ball flying towards the nets, slicing through the air. Haruma froze with his eyes wide, and besides him, Rei watched the ball soaring with a nervous look. Haru and Izaya were stunned, holding their stances, looking down at the ground. Subaru began to move at the ball’s direction with his eyes locked firmly on the approaching ball. Jiho with fury still burning in his eyes was watching the ball soaring towards the nets. Subaru reached the edge of the nets and slightly leaped with a raised hand, but the ball passed just above the crossbars, completely missing the target. From the sidelines, Raya took a sigh of relief, while Kurogami shook head in frustration, clearly pissed. Haruma slightly kicked the grass in frustration, while Rei with a sly smile ran back to take his position. Jiho clenched his fist and jaw, letting out a furious growl. Izaya walks past him with a smile, giving Jiho’s shoulder a slight bump in a quiet playful taunt. From the sidelines, Kurogami stepped forward, "Heyyyy!" he called out with a sharp commanding tone, drawing the attention of Haruma, Tezuka and Jiho. Having their attention, Kurogami gave them a signal to come over. Tezuka without hesitation jogged towards him. Haruma, letting out a slight sigh, followed with a steady pace. Jiho, clearly reluctant, forced himself to move, jogging towards him with clear frustration. The trio jogged over and came to a stop in front of Kurogami. "What the hell are you all doing?" Kurogami snapped, his voice low with frustration, he turned sharply to Jiho, "And what are you up to? I gave you a plan! then fuckin execute it damn it!" Jiho looked up at him with clear annoyance, "A plan?" He scoffed, "You are asking me to execute a plan that will end with me getting kicked out of the team!" Kurogami with gritted teeths began with his voice low and sharp, "Don’t be an idiot! My strategy holds a clear path to victory! and that’s what we are here for, to win! and if you can’t play your role, then there is no place for you in this team!" Jiho gritted his teeths, "Fuck your strategy!" he snapped, "I’ll score and win all by myself!" Kurogami’s eyes snapped open, Haruma turned to Jiho with slightly wide eyes. For a moment both Haruma and Kurogami stared at Jiho, observing the fire in his eyes. Itsuki stepped forward trying to ease the tension, "Jiho my friend it’s okay but-" Just then Kurogami raised his hand, silencing him with a sharp wordless gesture. Minato sensei blew out the whistle, "Everyone, back to your positions!" he called out. Jiho held Kurogami’s gaze for a brief moment before turning his back and began to walk away. Kurogami with unreadable expressions watch him go. Then he spoke, "Haruma, I’ve a plan for you." Meanwhile Jihi stepped on the field, jumped to stretch his legs and walked to his position, ignoring them... Everyone was set for the final round of the game. Raya and Kurogami from the sidelines were focused on the game. Kento, from the stands, was watching with a slight smile on his face, clearly ready and excited. Besides him Mio was bouncing on her seat chanting Haruma’s name with infectious energy. Minato sensei brings the whistle to his lips, ready to kickoff the game, with Roan standing on his side, practically buzzing with excitement. Haruma stood ready with the ball under his feet, with Tezuka standing on his right and Jiho on his left, both ready for action. Jiho slightly turned his head to Haruma, a fierce thought burning in his mind, "Haruma... I won’t let you score, I won’t let Kurogami win again!" A sharp whistle blows out loud, as Haruma with chilling calmness moves forward with the ball, before giving a gentle pass to Tezuka, who collects it and explodes into a sprint forward. Haruma sprinted, Jiho sprinted even faster. The trio was storming forward with relentless speed. Seeing their aggressive approach, Izaya bites his tongue and meets their approach with the same intensity followed by all other defenders. Tezuka rushing forward with the ball saw Rei approaching him head-on. Just as they both neared, Tezuka slightly dragged the ball back with finesse and spun around smoothly, turning his back on Rei and fired a sharp pass to Haruma. Haruma received the ball with precision, snapping his gaze up to see Haru and Izaya were already on his face. With the ball at his feets, Haruma slowly began to move backwards, while Haru and Izaya kept pressing forward, blocking his path ahead. "You are not getting past us Haruma!" Haru muttered, just loud enough for Haruma to listen. Still calm and composed, Haruma sharply feinted to the right, but Izaya standing there blocked his path, forcing him to stop before he could make any move. Izaya’s eyes were firmly locked on the ball, reading every twitch, while Haru was focused on Haruma’s movements, anticipating his next move. Haruma then slightly shifted his gaze to the left from where Jiho was rushing ahead with his eyes locked with Haruma’s. letting out a quiet sigh, Haruma nudged the ball to the left, causing Haru to take a big shift to Haruma’s left stretching his leg to block the pass But in a flash, Haruma trapped the ball dead under his feet and slipped it forward, sending it ahead from between Haru’s legs. Haru’s eyes widened in shock, while Izaya was frozen, stunned. Before they could react, Haruma surged forward, forcefully shoving past both Haru and Izaya, cutting clean through their defense. Itsuki and Kabuto erupted into cheers, unable to contain their excitement, while Kurogami sighed and gave a firm nod of approval. Jiho’s wide eyes remained locked on Haruma. "Bait? He used me as bait?" the bitter thought slipped in his mind. Haruma pushed forward with the ball, when suddenly Rei slid his foot in for a tackle. But before Rei could reach him, Haruma passed the ball to Tezuka who instantly tapped it back ahead, just past Rei. Haruma charged forward, shoving Rei aside to reclaim the ball from ahead, before drawing his foot for a shot. But this time Taro came in, slamming his shoulder into Haruma’s trying to force the ball away. Still in control, Haruma managed to flick the ball to Tezuka. Tezuka caught it cleanly, Only to find Haru rushing at him with clear fury in his eyes, while Izaya made his run straight at Haruma. Tezuka clenched his jaw, and took a step back before firing a pass ahead at Haruma, towards the nets. Haruma ran forward with a relentless speed, nearing the ball aiming to shoot. When suddenly both Taro and Izaya joined in from both sides, slamming their shoulders onto Haruma’s. Rei flanked Haruma to block the shot while Subaru began to move forward, narrowing the angle. At that moment, Haruma’s eyes snapped open into focus, making the time to slow down. Izaya and Taro pressing their shoulders, Rei flanking him, Subaru moving forward like a walk approaching. Haruma drew in a sharp breath, and just as everyone closed in, blocking him completely, Haruma calmly passed the ball to his left back. Every eye watching widened in breathless anticipation, Kento came onto his feets watching with wide eyes. With his thigh muscles coiled with power, Jiho, with nothing but just raw fury in his eyes rushed forward. With a roar tearing from his chest, he drove his foot into the ball, unleashing a blistering shot that tore through the air and crashed into the back of the nets. Jiho took his shirt off and slammed it hard on the ground, "Yeaaaahhhhh!" he roared, his voice echoing like thunder. Kabuto, Itsuki, Naoya, Zora and Ichimaru erupted into roars before storming the field running towards Jiho. Haruma’s sprint faded into a slow jog, as he silently raised his arm in a silent celebration. Tezuka grinning widely, leapt into the air with a fist bump before racing over towards Jiho. Mio was beaming with a bright smile, watching the scene before bursting into applause over her head with joy. Meanwhile Kento was applauding with clear joy. On the field, Tezuka leapt onto Jiho’s back, followed by others, who one by one piled over him in waves of celebration. Haruma turned to Izaya who was on both knees, with a smile he walked and reached out a hand for him. Izaya looked up, returned the smile and clasped it, pulling himself back on his feets, with a noise of celebration surrounding them. From the sidelines, Raya stepped onto the field clapping with a warm genuine smile, followed closely by his side. In the center of it all, Jiho was giggling with pure joy as his team was surrounding him patting his back, ruffling his hair in appreciation. When Haruma came with a genuine smile playing on his face. Jiho turned to Haruma, returned the smile and extended his hand for a dap. Haruma met it without hesitation, their hands clasped as they shared a moment of respect and friendship. Just then, Kurogami with a straight face stepped in silently and stood among the team, keeping his face ahead, not meeting their gazes. Noticing Kurogami, Jiho smirked and turned his eyes back to Haruma, "Thanks buddy... for believing in me." Haruma’s smile grew slightly, "No big deal, I just followed the plan." After hearing this, Jiho’s eyes snapped open in surprise, as he sharply turned to Kurogami who was still standing with a straight face, keeping his eyes forward. Minato sensei along with Roan approached the gathered team, both clapping, drawing everyone’s attention including Jiho’s, who shifted slightly with a hint of unease on his expressions knowing it was Kurogami who actually gave him a chance. Minato sensei swept his gaze across all the gathered players before speaking up, "What a brilliant game," he began, "Great win by Kurogami’s side and strong, commendable efforts from Raya’s side." He paused, letting the anticipation build, before adding. "Now it’s time to announce the starting eleven of U-17 Tokyo Wolves." His words brought a wave of nervous excitement through all the gathered players, each one standing alert, eyes sharp and mind focused, ready for what’s coming next.