Third and final day of the group stage. Furano had given it their all and secured their place in the knockout phase with five wins out of five. Same record for Azumaichi, Musashi, Hanawa, and Meiwa. Nankatsu also qualified, finishing second in their group with four wins and one loss.
That evening, I was sitting on the bench of one of the training fields, on the phone with my grandparents, just catching them up on how everything was going so far.
"And make sure you're eating well over there. I don't want to see you come back looking like a twig." my grandmother warned.
"Don't worry, the food's good." I reassured her with a chuckle.
"Alright then. Good night, Shin."
"Good night." I replied before hanging up.
I was just about to grab my things and head back to the hotel when Roberto Hongo suddenly appeared on the field, looking lost in thought.
He started talking to himself, standing alone in front of the goal, then slowly raised his eyes to the sky.
He hadn't noticed me. From where I was sitting, the whole scene looked kind of theatrical.
I pulled a ball from my bag and shot it straight at him, aiming for his hips.
"Ow!"
I heard him yelp as I walked over.
He turned around, clearly caught off guard and a bit embarrassed.
"Didn't think anyone else was here." he said with a nervous laugh. Then he squinted a bit and added. "Wait a second… You wouldn't happen to be Orochi Shin, would you?"
"Yes, that's me." I replied.
"I've watched some of your matches, you're impressive. A real talent." he said.
"Thank you." I answered. "But just so you know, I intend to win this tournament, even if your protégé is in it." I added.
He laughed. "I see, sharp, huh?" he paused a second, then added. "Your biggest asset is the spin you put on the ball, especially being able to do it with both feet."
"That's true." I nodded.
He smiled knowingly. "Keep developing that… you're on the verge of something great."
Then he turned and walked away.
After that, I made my way back to the hotel.
The Next Morning.
The bracket showing the matchups of the 16 teams entering the knockout stage was finally posted.
We were in the shared dining hall when Soda came over to us holding a sheet of paper.
"Here it is, our first match will be against Hanawa FC." he said, showing the bracket to the whole team.
"We'll have to be careful with their aerial play." I began informing the team with what I knew about them. Then I stood up. "I'm going to grab a drink, be right back."
As I turned around, I accidentally bumped into someone, Kojiro Hyuga.
Before I even had a chance to apologize, he tried to slap me. I dodged it, which clearly caught him off guard.
"What's your problem?" I asked him, my tone serious.
The tension in the room instantly spiked. The whole dining hall fell silent. Everyone was watching.
You just had to stay out of my way." he said.
I simply smiled, to me, he was clearly overreacting.
"Are you mocking me?" he snapped.
"Cut it out, Kojiro." said Misaki.
"Stay out of it!" Hyuga shot back.
"Settle this on the field!" Tsubasa interjected.
"Tsubasa's right. We'll settle it there." I said casually.
"Yeah, no point in having injuries before the match." added Jun as he approached the scene.
"Tch. Fine." Kojiro muttered before walking off.
The next day, the first match was Furano's, and they won, which meant that either Hanawa or us would face them in the next round.
Musashi FC also won their match quite easily, even with Misugi on the bench.
Then came the Meiwa FC match, where Kojiro Hyuga scored a hat trick in just the first half, putting him at the top of the scorers' leaderboard.
It was finally our turn to play.
We walked onto the field.
"Don't forget what I told you, Soda." I said.
"Don't worry, I've got it." he confirmed.
We took our positions, and the match began. Hanawa had kickoff, so they started with the ball. After a few minutes of possession, they managed to get close to our goal.
A cross was sent in Kazuo's direction, one of the Tachibana twins, who used the goalpost for leverage to jump higher and reach the ball."One for us!" he called out in midair.
But before he could make contact, Soda had already anticipated it and launched a header to clear the ball upfield.
"What?!" Kazuo shouted in disbelief.
In no time, the ball was moving up the field thanks to Nakai and Kuramochi, who executed a smooth one-two.
They sent the ball my way. I received it, broke through the defense, and scored with a curling shot from the right foot the keeper's fingers couldn't reach.
"And it's the first goal of the match between Hanawa and Azumaichi — scored by Orochi!"
The match resumed. Once again, we found ourselves in danger, this time, both Tachibana brothers were inside the penalty area. I gave a signal to Soda. Just as I had anticipated, a cross was sent in their direction.
They were about to perform their famous Catapult technique, but before they could execute it, Soda was already in the air, clearing the ball with a header once again.
"No way, again?! This can't be happening!" Masao exclaimed.
And just like before, it ended with a goal from me, this time with a curled shot from my left foot.
"Another GOOOAAAL for Azumaichi! Orochi scores a brace!"
"Damn, they know the timing of our techniques." Kazuo said to Masao.
"Seems like it." Masao replied.
The match resumed.
The Hanawa players were fighting hard to create another opportunity. But once again, it failed, and the ball eventually ended up at my feet.
I quickly chained a step-over on one player 'Too slow.' I thought, then brushed past another with some contact, followed by a nutmeg on the last defender, and finally finished with a rabona past the goalkeeper.
"It's him again, Orochi! That's the third one!" the commentator shouted as the crowd erupted in applause.
"Argh, this is so frustrating." said Masao. He moved into position for the kickoff again, but the referee blew the whistle for halftime.
"Masao I have an idea." said Kazuo.