Chapter 75 - 404 9

Rukia, however, stayed quiet, gazing at Toru with worry creeping in her eyes. "Father, he was like a superhero!" Mio remarked with a smile, sitting a bit away from Rukia’s seat. Mio’s father, Kento, was watching the game with a focused gaze, "Indeed, it’s unbelievable how fast and accurately he moved." Haruma’s mother was watching the match with a look of concern, her eyes fixed intently on the game... As the game progressed, one of the Hanaka had the ball which he passed to another player who began advancing cautiously, noticing opposing players around him, he sent a beautiful pass ahead which was collected by Shino, his face set with determination. "I have to step up," Shino thought. "If I can make a perfect assist to Toru, I’m sure he’ll score!" his eyes darted desperately across the field, trying to figure out the positioning. With swift feet, he pushed the ball forward, heading towards the nets, when out of nowhere a defender appeared blocking his path. Shino froze, his eyes wide, startled by the sudden challenge. As that defender lunged forward for a tackle, Shino displayed his flawless footwork by sidestepping and surging past that defender, earning a big roar of cheers from the crowds. ’Wow! That was a display of some serious skills by Shino, he’s going for the nets!’l he’s going for the nets!" Shino, with his face set with intense determination sprinted towards the nets. Meanwhile that defender with blank expressions glanced over his shoulder watching Shino heading towards the net. Haruma was watching the scene with wide confused eyes, "Shino was that fast?" his mind raced "No... to me it looked like the defender just let him go!" Shino, charging with the ball, spotted Toru near the nets, who gave him a confident nod. Fueled with determination Shino launched a long pass towards Toru. The ball was sailing through the air with Toru getting in position to control it, but suddenly, a defender came jumping, intercepting the pass with a powerful header just before it could reach Toru. The ball landed at the feets of a Ryugen player who was about to charge forward with the ball, but suddenly Masaru stormed in fiercely tackling the ball, causing the ball to slide away from both of them. As the ball rolled into the open, the Hanaka winger surged forward ready to fire it towards the nets, but suddenly a furious voice cut through the air. "Nooo! give it to Toruuuu!" It was Shino. The winger’s gaze snapped on Toru, who was positioned not far from the nets. Without wasting any another second he deftly passed the ball straight to Toru’s feet. All the Hanaka crowds rose to their feets in anticipation, their eyes locked on Toru. With his back to the net, Toru slightly placed his feet under the ball, tapping it up into the air. Then with a powerful leap, he twisted mid-air, positioning himself for a perfectly bicycle kick. The crowds held their breaths, watching Toru’s beautiful form in the air. Rukia watched with eager anticipation her eyes fixed on Toru, while her friends’ eyes were sparkling with admiration. However, Haruma was watching with stunned silence, his eyes opened wide. Toru’s foot struck the ball with deadly precision sending it hurtling towards the nets where the Black Kallor stood! Kurogami dived into the air with his one arm outstretched, deflecting the ball with a tap of his hand, sending it back to the game. Both Toru and Kurogami crashed on ground at the same time, the only difference was Kurogami rolled and stood back up in no time, while Toru kept lying on ground staring at Kurogami in utter disbelief. Ryugen crowds burst into a roar of celebrations, while Hanaka crowds seemed frozen with a mix of shock and frustration. Kurogami with a serious face, causally passed the ball to his teammate who resumed the game. Haruma was staring at Kurogami with wide, stunned eyes, "That was some heck of a reflex!" he thought. Rukia’s gaze dropped in disappointment. The crowds around her sinked back on their seats, heavy with frustration. "How could he stop that!" One of Rukia’s friends shouted, frustration raw in her voice "He must be cheating! no one can stop Toru’s shots like that!" Another friend added, her words heavy with frustration. Shino rushed over, and helped Toru to his feet, "You Okay?" he asked with a steady voice. Toru stood with a hand of Shino, he nodded, still dazed, "Everything was true! He really is a keeper no striker would ever want to face!" Shino nodded firmly, "Yeah, but we have to find a way! He’s a human too. He can’t just stop every shot, we should keep trying!" Toru clenched his fist in fury, "Yeah! Until the very last second! I’ll keep attacking him until he regrets standing there!" Meanwhile The black Kallor, Kurogami Shikyo stood unfazed, his cold and serious gaze remained locked on the game ahead. In a flash, Masaru’s foot reached the ball with incredible power but, instead of firing it directly at the nets, he calmly passed it to his right side of the nets, leaving everyone stunned. Haruma’s eyes wide with disbelief. With slightly wide eyes, Kurogami watched the ball smoothly rolling towards the right side, from where Toru came in charging at the ball, facing the right open side of nets with Kurogami far on the left side. The crowds held its breaths, their eyes wide with anticipation. Toru, with his face set with immense focus, struck the ball with brute power, sending it flying towards the open right side of the nets. Opening his eyes with intense Determination, Kurogami quickly shifted to the right side and launched his leg at the ball, stretching his legs unbelievably wide... deflecting the ball just before it could cross the line, causing the ball to go soaring up into the air. The crowd was left in stunned silence, their jaws dropping in disbelief at the incredible save. Toru was frozen in his shooting stance, his face etched with frustration. Kurogami landed, sliding on the ground with one knee and one foot, his fist pressed into the ground, his face lowered in a menacing way. But just as the ball was in the air, Shino came charging forward, launching himself into the air, and with a furious roar, he met the ball with his head, sending it hurtling down towards the nets. Still on one knee, Kurogami slightly glanced back, over his shoulder and launched his body backwards, outstretching his arm, making a powerful tap that sent the ball flying back to the field. Just as the ball zipped past Toru and Shino, Masaru soared in from behind, striking the ball with all his might, sending it flying back towards the net once again. But in an instant Kurogami rose to his feet at a scary speed, positioning himself between the ball and the nets, catching it with both hands in mid-flight. The shockwave of the force rippled through the air. Masaru, Shino and Toru were staring at Kurogami with their eyes nearly popping out of disbelief. Chapter 21 "Unstoppable Force" The Hanaka crowd were in stunned silence, their jaws dropped, unable to believe what they had just witnessed. Haruma stood in utter shock, his expressions blank with confusion, his forehead drenched in sweat. The coach remained still, eyes wide in disbelief, arms still folded crossed. Rukia was in stunned silence covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes filled with disbelief, the female friends around her were on their feets, leaning forward their jaws dropped in shock. Just then, The silence got shattered with deafening roars from Ryugen High School. The commenter with their jaws dropped shouted into the microphone. ’Kurogami just saved it all!’ ’This monster has stopped three shots within seconds, and all of them came from the best Hanaka had, the three best Hanaka could offer!’ ’Is this the future?’ ’Is he the next big thing in Japanese football history?’ ’And the answer is... Yes!’ Kurogami lowered the ball with his expressions still serious, showing no signs of emotions. Shino, Masaru and Toru remained standing on their spots, unable to move or speak, staring at Kurogami in stunned silence. Kurogami then took a few steps forward, dropped the ball to the ground and struck it hard, sending it flying back to the game. Just then the referee’s whistle echoed, signalling the end of the first half... On the sidelines, Toru was sitting on the ground, his head dropped in disappointment, clearly dejected, a heavy silence hung over the team. The coach, deep in thought, broke the silence with a steady voice "There is no doubt that their goalkeeper is way much tougher than we ever expected!" The team turned their eyes on the coach. "But that doesn’t mean that we can’t score!" The coach said firmly, "It’s a game, and no goalkeeper can stop every shot!" "We just need to keep trying and trying," The coach continued, "And I’m sure in the next 45 minutes, we’ll find a way to score!" Still, there was silence and doubts cleared on the players’ faces. The coach’s gaze then turned to Toru who sat in silence, his face still lowered with disappointment. "Toru!" The coach said, his voice softer now, "You are our captain, our hope. You just can’t lose your spirit."