Standing on the soft grass of the field, Luka didn't shift an inch, save for slowly extending his right foot. The tip of his shoe made a gentle contact with the football resting near Yuki's feet. The ball rolled over the grass, nudging closer to Yuki.
"Come on, let's play," Luka said in a very calm voice. A faint, familiar smile played on his lips, softening the typical intensity in his eyes.
As soon as Yuki heard Luka's challenge, he opened his mouth to say something. The expression on his face suggested he had a witty retort ready to tease Luka. But before a single word could escape Yuki's lips, Haru, who had been sitting quietly nearby, sprang into action.
Like a swift shadow, Haru lunged down from the bench. His fingers quickly met the surface of the football resting on the ground, and in the blink of an eye, the ball was in his hands. Yuki was left stunned, his words catching in his throat.
Haru gripped the ball tightly and looked at both of them with excited eyes. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Haru waved his hand high in the air and called out loudly to the group of boys standing in the distance. "Hey look! Luka is here too! It's going to be fun now, let's start!" His voice echoed all the way to the other end of the field.
Following Haru, Luka and Yuki also began moving toward the center of that vast grassy expanse. Between the white chalk lines and the netted goalposts, several boys had already gathered. The field was buzzing with players—just like a professional football match where two teams of eleven players (11-11) stand face-to-face.
There was a noticeable difference in the height and build of the boys present. Some were still on the threshold of their early teens, their movements carrying the agility of childhood, while others were significantly taller with sturdy builds, their gazes reflecting the confidence of being seniors.
This mixed group of younger and older players was taking up their respective positions on the field.
As soon as Luka's presence was noticed, the whispers among the practicing children grew louder. The ball was now moving swiftly from one player's foot to another. The football flying through the air and the sound of dozens of pairs of boots sprinting across the grass filled the atmosphere with a distinct surge of energy.
The field had now transformed into a battlefield. The air was filled with the shouts of players, the sound of boots scraping against the grass, and the rhythmic thud of the football. The afternoon sun now glistened as beads of sweat on the players' foreheads.
Yuki skillfully took control of the ball and, piercing through a defensive circle, launched a precise shot through the air. The football landed perfectly at Luka's feet. Luka, though shorter than many of the senior boys on the field, moved swiftly like a shadow.
His body twisted so effortlessly with the wind that the larger players couldn't even get a hand on him. With a powerful kick, the ball slammed into the net of the goalpost—Luka had secured the first goal for his team.
The trio of Luka, Haru, and Yuki were part of the same team. They understood each other's next moves without speaking a word.
However, the opposing team was not falling behind; they possessed both experience and strength. The age gap on the field seemed to have vanished. Even those ten-year-old boys were sprinting across the pitch like seasoned athletes.
Their pace was so intense that the ball traveled from one end of the field to the other in the blink of an eye. Despite their small stature, their eyes held the same fire for victory as any great warrior.
The opposing team's players had now begun to surround Luka, their breathing heavy and their gazes fixed solely on that soaring ball.
Luka was now surging toward the goalpost like an arrow. Around him was an impenetrable circle of opposing players, doing everything in their power to stop him.
Luka's body remained perfectly upright, his gaze fixed on the goalpost ahead, making it seem as though a direct strike was imminent. The goalkeeper standing before the post was on high alert, his muscles tensed as he tried to anticipate Luka's every move.
The opposing players closed in to shove him and steal the ball, yet Luka's pace never faltered. Suddenly, a momentary silence fell over the air. The afternoon sun hit Luka's face, causing his deep blue eyes to shimmer like precious sapphires. There was a strange glint and an aura of confidence in those eyes.
At that exact moment, when everyone expected a direct shot, Luka executed an unimaginable maneuver. Without stopping or even changing his body's direction, he flicked his ankle at a precise angle. Instead of going straight, the football curved with the speed of lightning and veered in the opposite direction.
The goalkeeper was still braced for a frontal assault, but the ball whizzed past him, creating a sharp curve before slamming into the net at the far corner of the goalpost.
A loud 'swish' echoed—Luka's second goal! Everyone on the field stood frozen in their tracks; the magic of Luka's cunning and his shimmering eyes had cast a spell over the entire ground.
The crowd around the field had grown significantly. Several girls from the academy sat on the benches, clapping their hands, while a group of boys standing in the distance cheered at every pass. The game was now at its peak. A tall player from the opposing team flicked the ball toward his teammate with the speed of the wind, leveling the score in an instant. By the fifth round, the match had become a neck-and-neck battle.
Suddenly, the atmosphere on the field began to shift. It was as if the shadows of time were growing longer right in the middle of the play.
The seventh round commenced. The ball was once again with Luka's team. As the football came under Luka's feet, he brought it to a halt. But this time, as he rested his foot upon the ball, they were no longer tiny shoes. A firm and powerful footprint was now being pressed into the grass of the field. As Luka kicked the ball, it surged forward like a cannonball, piercing through the goalpost.
The shock was visible in the eyes of a girl standing nearby. Her gaze was fixed on the player who had changed so drastically. The bright afternoon sun still created that same blue shimmer in those eyes, but Luka's face and body had shed the softness of childhood.
His loose white shirt was now taut against his broadening chest and strong shoulders. The features of his face had become sharper and more defined. The child, who once seemed small among the others, now stood in the center of the field as a striking adolescent.
Everyone standing there looked at him with new eyes. The time spent on that playing field wasn't just measured in rounds; a long journey of five years had slipped through those moments. The joy of Luka's team's victory was now twofold, for standing among them was no longer a small child, but a seasoned and powerful young man.