Chapter 81 - 404 14

’That’s another red card for Ryugen, and this time the victim is their best defender. Can they recover from this loss, is there any hope left for the broken Hanaka?’ The Hanaka crowds were gazing at Nara with wide, stunned eyes, unable to believe their hero, Nara being brought to tears and helpless on the ground. Rukia lowered her head, her face crumbling as she broke into sobs, and soon her friends, along with several other female supporters were also overwhelmed with tears. The coach took a deep sigh, his shoulder sagging in defeat. He then turned to a benched defender who appeared terrified, shivering with horror. "Taka," the coach called in a low tone. Taka, the defender, with wide terrified eyes turned to face the coach. "You’re up!" The coach urged, his tone low and depressive. "They’ll kill me, coach!" Taka replied with a trembling tone, "I’m sorry... but I just can’t!" The coach still standing with a blank saddened expression, began to speak "Alright, I think we should give u-" A figure stepped forward, standing right between the coach and that defender, facing the coach. The coach slowly looked up and saw Haruma standing before him, his face lowered, eyes darkened with shadow. "Haruma?" the coach muttered in a confused tone. With his gaze still lowered, Haruma began "Let me... play... coach." His tone was firm, surprising both benched players and the coach. "But you are a striker?" the coach replied, still baffled. Haruma looked up at Coach revealing his eyes burning with determination "It doesn’t matter, I just want to play!" The coach’s eyes widened, momentarily stunned by Haruma’s words, who was standing with a focused and determined face. ’And here comes the substitution for Nara!’ Taking off his training bib to reveal the name Haruma on the back, stepping into the field, with each deliberate step, Haruma slowly made his way towards his position. "Haruma?" One of Rukia’s friends whispers in a low, confused tone. Rukia’s tear stopped abruptly as she quickly lifted her head up, with her eyes brimming with tears, she saw Haruma walking towards the defensive position, "Haruma?" she whispers softly. Toru, Shino and Masaru appeared confused too, unable to comprehend why Haruma was heading towards the defense. A frustrated Hanaka’s fan jumped to his feets, "Get lost! We don’t want to see you play anymore! just give up!" his shout rang out with bitterness. Another fan followed the suit, springing up with anger, "Yeah! give up!" he yelled. Soon most of the Hanaka supporters were yelling "Give up!" "Give up you brat!" "Get Lost!" Rukia, however, kept her soft gaze locked on Haruma, her eyes reflecting deep sadness. Haruma, with his face blank and lowered, was walking quietly towards his position, surrounded by the harsh voices of a few fans who were cursing and shouting at him, his heartbeat rising, his confidence shattering. A small pair of feets slowly climbed up onto the seat, a pair of tiny hands raised enthusiastically overhead before coming together in a sharp, resounding clap, silencing and shocking everyone. "Harumaaaaaa!" A chant echoed joyfully, voice full of excitement and energy. Haruma paused mid-steps, his eyes shot open in utter disbelief. Slowly, he turned to the voice and saw Mio, her face shining with a brightest smile, jumping excitedly on her seat, clapping, chanting Haruma’s name with pure enthusiasm and uncontainable energy. "Ha-ru-ma" "Ha-ru-ma" "Ha-ru-ma" Mio’s infectious enthusiasm, laughter, radiates through the crowds, making her shine brightest among the sea of crowds. Mio’s father sitting next to her was watching his daughter with a proud, bright smile. The rest of the crowds including Rukia and her friends were gazing at Mio in stunned silence, their eyes wide with amazement. Haruma stood frozen in his spot, his mind reeling in disbelief, gazing at Mio who with uncontainable joy was clapping, jumping and laughing, her voice ringing through the air as she kept chanting Haruma’s name over and over. "Harumaaaaaaa!" another female chant echoed, louder than the Mio’s. Haruma’s heart skipped a beat, and with his fist clenched tight he turned around and saw his mother standing on her feets, clapping her hand over her head, chanting Haruma’s name with uncontainable energy, tears of joy were streaming down her face, her pride and love shining through every emotion. With a sharp movement Haruma’s head dropped, his gaze fixed on the grass, his breaths heavy and uneven, struggling to breathe properly, a wave of goosebumps surged through his entire body, tears began to fill up on his eye, making his eyes red and tearful The entire stadium was in stunned silence, with just Haruma’s mother and Mio’s chants of ’Haruma’ echoing loudly across the stadium. Clenching his fist with all his strength, Haruma drew in a deep breath and as he exhaled... a thick mist escaped his mouth, a golden aura began to emanate from his body, swirling around him like a radiant aura The winger flinched before sending a pass to his striker. As the ball was heading to the striker Haruma’s focused gaze followed the ball, and as he noticed the striker preparing to take a shot. In the middle of his run, Haruma changed his direction and charged towards the striker. As that striker’s foot reached the ball, Haruma’s foot shot out, swiftly blocking the shot. But that striker faked, and firmly held the ball under his foot. "You fucking fool!" The striker yelled with seething anger, before swiftly passing the ball back to his left winger who was already charging towards it. As Haruma tried to sprint at the winger, the striker firmly pressed his arm on Haruma’s chest, halting his sprint. Turning his intense eyes on Haruma, that striker smirked and said, "If you try to move, I’ll kill you... just like your buddies!" Haruma remained still, his eyes cold, his face completely expressionless. With a furious roar, the winger charged at the ball and struck it with all his might sending it soaring towards the nets. The Haruma crowds rose to their feet, holding their breaths in anxious anticipation. Rukia’s gaze followed the ball, watching it soaring towards the net, her eyes wide with tension. The panicked goalkeeper scrambled to position and made a weak dive. As the ball neared the net, a pair of golden boots stomped on ground and leaped up high soaring high into the air into, heading the ball far out of the play. The boy landed effortlessly on the ground, settling in a crouched position with both feet firmly planted on the ground, his back displaying the name Haruma. The striker, Toru, Shino, Masaru, and the rest of the Ryugen high players were frozen with their jaws dropped and face frozen in disbelief. Meanwhile, Kurogami watched the game with cold serious eyes. Tears of overwhelming emotions streamed down Haruma’s mother’s face, and with a trembling smile she let out a big chant of "Ha-ru-ma!" Immediately after her, the entire Hanaka crowd erupted, jumping to their feets in thunderous roars of cheers. Mio was enthusiastically bouncing up and down on her seat over and over, cheering for Haruma with pure joy and uncontainable excitement. Her father, sitting beside her, was watching Haruma with a bright, wide smile. Rukia was momentarily frozen with shock before her emotions exploded and she joined the others in the storm roars and cheers. ’It’s Haruma, once again at his very best!’ ’Where did he even come from? I didn’t see him anywhere near when the shot was taken’ The commenters voice filled with amazement. Haruma rose to his feet, and glanced back, over his shoulder, spotting that striker down on one knee, drenched in sweat, gasping for air, his face etched with utter disbelief. Chapter 25 "And Rise!" Haruma, staring at that kneeling defender, began walking towards him with deliberate steps until he stood directly in front of him, their eyes locked in tense unspoken confrontation. Fixing him with a cold, serious gaze, Haruma spoke in a chilling calm, "If I wasn’t worried about giving you a free kick... I would have broken your ankle in an instant." That striker’s eyes widened in shock, he was seeing the dark, menacing intensity burning in Haruma’s eyes. Haruma then turned his back on that kneeling striker and began walking towards the gathered Toru, Shino and Masaru, who were gazing at him with wide stunned eyes. As Haruma was walking towards his teammates, that opposing left winger stepped into his path and intentionally slammed his shoulder on Haruma’s. Haruma slightly staggered back but in instant he forcefully shoved that winger back with equal raw power, both players stumble back but quickly regain their footings, standing firm, both locked eyes in tense, defiant face to face Both the Ryugen and Hanaka crowds erupted in roars, their voices a mix of curse and cheers, the atmosphere got charged with energy. ’Now there’s the heat! The aggression! something Hanaka was desperately missing!’ The commentator’s voice echoed with energy. "Absolutely, and the fans are definitely loving it. This game is definitely heating up in its final minutes!" Haruma and that winger then began walking away, each still maintaining their intense stare at each other, giving each other a silent send-off. "What the hell!" One of Rukia’s females exclaimed, her gaze filled with lust and longing fixed on Haruma, "How did no one ever tell me that Haruma was this hot!" Rukia’s eyes snapped open in surprise, her face flushing red.