Halftime – Seikan Locker Room
The locker room buzzed with adrenaline and breathless excitement. The air smelled of sweat, sports drinks, and focus. Some players sat on benches, toweling off. Others leaned against the walls, their jerseys damp, their minds replaying every second of the first half.
Coach Himura stood in front of the whiteboard, arms crossed. His gaze swept across the room.
"You've done well," he began. "That goal just now when Masaki shook of 6 people and score and Hyuga's positioning also to added one more goal was textbook exploitation of pressure. But don't let it fool you. This game is far from over."
Shingo Aoi, a second-year winger, glanced at Masaki, who sat quietly sipping water. 'I'm glad he's on our side,'Shingo thought. 'An underclassman with that much presence… it's hard not to respect it.'
Coach Himura continued, tapping the board with a marker. "Touin isn't just full of tactic they really master the basic, how you control the ball, how you trap the ball, how you pass it been ingrave in they mind since junior high. They're also coordinated. Their fullbacks track back fast, and their midfield presses high. So I want you not slacking.Run even it means you die."
He circled a name. "Hayato Kaidou. He's not just flair. He's efficient. Left foot, right foot, headers — doesn't matter. You give him a yard, he'll burn you. Double up when he's near the edge of the box."
Genichiro Taira spoke up, breathing heavy but focused. "Their defensive block is compact. We can't force our way through. We need to move the ball wider, make them chase."
"Exactly," Coach nodded. "Don't chase highlight plays. Control the tempo. Patience, movement, discipline. Stick to the structure, and opportunities will come."
Masaki finally spoke to Hyuga, calm but clear. "If they overmark me again, we use that. I'll pull them out. You need to find the space sempai. Trust me I will give you the best pass."
Hyuga smirked, tapping Masaki's shoulder. "As long as you don't hog the spotlight."
Masaki chuckled then replied
"I only take what's mine."
Laughter rippled through the room, cutting some of the tension. The coach cracked a small grin.
"Let's finish what we started. Second half — show them what a real team looks like."
⸻
Touin Academy Locker Room
Silence hung heavy in Touin's locker room — not defeat, but focus.
Takumi Hoshina leaned forward, elbows on knees, his brows furrowed. "That goal… wasn't luck."
Kaidou scoffed. "He had four of us on him. Still broke through like it was nothing."
"He didn't just break through," their captain, Shun koji, added. "And come the second goal, he know we tighter the defense more toward him that open up more space for Hyuga and yeah he never let that one opportunity to miss."
Coach Sakamoto stepped forward. "You're not wrong. Renjirou's dangerous. But you already knew that. Stop reacting. Start to work more harder."
He pointed to a tactical diagram. "We switch to a flexible 4-1-4-1. Takumi drops deeper to anchor the pivot. Shun, press higher, force them to the flanks. Our traps work better there."
"Got it," Takumi nodded. "Push them to the wings, then squeeze."
"For Masaki," the coach continued, "we don't just chase him.Don make him got the ball. Shut down Taira and they one more playmaker misugi jun. Force their center-backs to take initiative so that they'll hesitate."
Hayato stood up, tying his boot laces tighter. "Even with four on him, he scored. So what? That just means we hit back harder."
Coach folded his arms. "That's the spirit. Now prove we belong at the top."
⸻
Second Half – 13th Minute
The stadium roared as both teams returned to the field.
Touin restarted with high pressing intensity, pushing up their midfield line. Seikan, however, stayed composed — precise, measured.
Then came a dangerous moment.
Hayato Kaidou, cutting inside from the left, exploded past Seikan's right back. He took a sharp touch into the box, eyes fixed on the bottom corner
But Hiroshi Jito was already there.
With perfect timing, the tall center-back slid in and swept the ball clean off Kaidou's boot.
"Great tackle, Hiroshi!" someone yelled from the Seikan bench.
Jito rose calmly and passed the ball to their right-wing back, Kensuke.
And from there — it began.
Passes between the backline. Touin never stop giving pressure, but Seikan not one to losing calm and just continue to control possession.
Now to the midfield. Captain Taro dropped in to receive and calmly played it wide.
The ball moved like silk across the pitch. Every touch purposeful. Every movement synced.The ball now never once touch Touin's foot
"Don't let them do anything!" Narita barked.
when the ball reached Hyuga, he make a back-heeled pass to Masaki and made a run.
Masaki flicked it past his marker and shifted play left.
a one-two between Captain Taro and Misugi jun. Back into the center.
Taira again his vision is sharp and just when he find the space. He give a low driven pass into Hyuga's path.
Hyuga dummied it — let it roll between his legs.
Captain Taro came charging in from the right and struck with the inside of his foot.
Precise.
The keeper dived—
Too late.
The net rippled.
GOAL.
The stadium erupted. Fans stood on their feet. Chants echoed across the stands.
The scoreboard lit up: Seikan 3 – 0 Touin
Captain turned to the crowd, raised his hand in the air to celebrate the goal
He then pointed to the Seikan stand, where students is and that make them more fired up to cheers and scream.
On the sidelines, Coach Himura clapped once, firmly. "That's how we play. Team football."
Hiroshi Jito said. "That's how it should be, he finishes what we start."
And for once, even the fans of Touin could only sit back, stunned and impressed.