"Monster!"
That was all the defenders of the U20 team could think as Karasu surpassed them both, and nutmegged two of them in a row. That in itself was crazy enough, but the real suprise was one that no person in the stands could see. It was the sheer psychological abuse that Karasu had delivered to the defense.
The truth was, during the beginning of the match, everybody, both on and off the field, had come to the match only to watch Itoshi Sae. He was supposed to be the MVP, the real attraction. Perhaps, some had even hoped to watch him clown the so called "Blue Lock", the useless organisation that was destroying the careers of hundreds of aspiring high schoolers who hoped to play for their country one day. They wanted to see how useless and crappy this project was, and how messed up their players were.
But from the beginning, Blue Lock had turned the tides. The first thing that came to everybody's mind was, "Hey, their playstyle is okay, acceptable,". When Sae scored, it was a testament to his skill, his ability to score even though it was a corner kick, but it was no surprise.
And then, Blue Lock took it personally.
The white haired guy- Seishiro Nagi,#7-had scored a crazy goal. The crowd was too stunned for a moment, and then they started cheering. They admitted that Blue Lock was a fine team, and they acknowledged Nagi as the best player on the opposing team, Blue Lock's ace. But a few minutes later, their entire viewpoint changed, as #10, the younger brother of "Japan's greatest treasure", Itoshi Rin, scored a crazy curved goal with the outside of his foot, a goal that no one had expected in this match, and especially not from some no-name organisation.
Blue Lock had taken the lead during the first half, with a 2-1, and viewers hardy knew which was going to win anymore.
But the reason that the defense was traumatised right now, was because no one, absolutely no one had expected a midfielder to come up with a move like this. That was what weighed so heavy on their ego, "I just got nutmegged by a guy playing Central Midfielder. Not even Central Attacking midfielder, but just plain Central Midfielder".
Karasu grinned, then his smirk faded away, as his eyes locked onto the scene in front of him. Darai and Nio were still paralysed, so Blue Lock wouldn't have to worry about them for now, but they could recover. Probably. Or probably not.
Neru's choice to mark Hiori had backfired on him, as now the blue haired femboy was locking him out, assisted by Baro, leaving only Aiku in defense. The Snake was a great defender, sure, but right now, he was surrounded by too many egoists. He was trying to signal for support from further up, but even the fastest would arrive too late, as Blue Lock would already have made their move. The best choice that Aiku had right now, was to intercept their attempt at goal, and kick it forward, killing at least their present attack, and buying enough time for Nio and Darai to recover, so that he wouldn't be alone.
Karasu made a descision, raised his hand to Yukimiya and passed him the ball. Yukimiya recieved it with a grin, but it faded away just as quickly, as he saw Aiku barreling towards him. He looked sideways desperately, and saw Karasu gesturing for a pass. He was about to obey, when his mind caught up with his actions.
Karasu had set him up.
Him. The emperor of one v one in the entirety of Japan. The guy who ranked #5 in the entirety of the nation's best strikers, and who considered himself to be the best dribbler. That damn four-eyed lampoon had put that irritating Bachira above him, but that didn't fool Kenyu. He knew he was the best, and nothing anyone else ever said could change that.
So, how dare this this damn, arrogant crow fool him?
How dare he?
No, Yukimiya wasn't going to pass. He was gonna face this half-assed Basilisk head on, and he was going to show the world the true strength of Kenyu Yukimiya, by killing this thing and scoring on their faces.
He didn't have much time anyway. His eyes hurt everyday. They watered like crazy during the most critical moments of a match. There were even days, where everything was blurry. He'd pass to the wrong people, and that wouldn't in the opposite team scoring on him, with him having the honour of assisting.
But not today. Not now.
He, Kenyu Yukimiya would show the world, the true worth of-
He sent a La Boba, rushing towards the defender.
-Blue Lock's #5!
"Hey,"
The familiar sensation charged through #5. He gasped, and let go of the ball for less than a second, but in a match like this, it was enough for Aiku to steal the ball.
"Haven't I already told you that I've had hadenough?"
Yukimiya tried to kick the ball away, desperate to keep the dwindling attack alive, but Aiku simply did a heel flick, let the ball bounce in front of him, and raised his feet back, to kick with a high pass to the midfield, and destroy Blue Lock's sweet attempt at attack.
That was all it'd take. One pass, let it sail past the centre line, and boom. Blue Lock would have struggle to create another attack, because, after all, till now, Karasu was a variable. They hadn't known his true limits till now, but now they knew exactly what he was capable of. So, no matter what he tried to do, he'd fail to link up another attack, especially with Itoshi Sae on guard.
Demo...
"Your tricks fooled me once. No way its happening again."
Aiku grunted in suprise as an unknown figure slammed into him. They both tumbled down onto the ground, temporarily confusing Aiku, but then he realised that the figure kicked the ball away. His pupils dilated in shock, as the figure got to his feet and stood up.
It was at this second that he realised that-
"Get up ,you damn snake, so I can score on you again,"
"Itoshi...Rin?!"
The striker looked down on him, an eerie glow in his eyes. They was no smirk on his face as far as Aiku could see, but the look on his face was far, far more terrifying from any smirk that the defender had ever suffered from.
Other strikers would probably mock him, smile or insult him. They would make him experience anger, rage maybe even irritation.
But Itoshi Rin was different. He wasn't doing any of that stuff, but instead made Aiku experience the briefest snatch of-
Fear.
Unadultered, pure fear.
Aiku stopped his breath. He looked up at the monster that Blue Lock had produced, the striker that had scored on the best defender on the field, and had slammed into him right now. Luckily, Rin looked away at the sailing ball and muttered, "Tchh, I should have passed it to someone who'd pass me back."
He turned and started to walk away, but paused and looked back, at the now-standing defender once more.
"Don't think I forgot, #2," His voice was audible even over the cheers and yells of the crowd. His eyes were filled with a dead hunger, uncaring of anything he did. "Before this match is over, you'll regret you ever pissed me off."
***
After Rin crashed into Aiku, he kicked the ball during the process. It was received by Isagi, who turned around, nodded his head at Karasu and both began a diagonal run towards the U20 goal. Aiku struggled to his feet, but just then, Hiori joined in the attack. They began a triangular passing pattern, bypassing Darai and Nio again and getting to the penalty box. Rin stood ready, prepared for another pass, and Yukimiya and Baro did the same.
"Dammit, we're not gonna be able to defend in time!" Aiku thought. He stood ready, helpless, but determined to do whatever he could to defend.
And just as another goal was about to be born-
"Man, I know I shouldn't have any expectations from you, but can you please stop being so half-baked?"
Hiori gasped and tried to dribble in the opposite direction, but Sae had already snatched the ball away. He sent a long pass to Cho, and made a run for the opposite side. Isagi attempted to intercept the pass, but Sae's calculations had already considered all possible moves that Isagi could make. The ball sailed past Isagi, despite #11 attempting to head it away towards the U20 goal.
Cho recieved it with a grin, and started a one-two with Sendo. Aryu stayed back, determined to kill this attack, while Bachira marked Shido.
"Hey, can you guys get any more boring?" Shido complained, as he rushed past. Bachira tried to stop him, but was overwhelmed by Shido's physique. Sendo sent a pass to an empty space, and Shido started running towards that space.
I see! Karasu thought. That space is empty, and none of our defenders can get there before Shido, but if he recieves, he'll have to pause to try and score! That one second window is all we need to mob Shido and close off his passing and shooting routes!
Go ahead, devil. Recieve it, and let us rejuvenate our dying attack. We can still-
Whatever Karasu was about to think next, he froze.
Because just as Shido slowed down to recieve-
He suddenly accelerated and rushed up without touching the ball!
"Huh?"
"He didn't recieve it?"
"What's he trying to do?"
Hiori's face broke into a grin. "In that case, we can steal it and-"
At that exact second, a magenta haired player ran up and parked himself in the ball's route.
That player was-
"Itoshi Sae!"
What? Blue Lock thought. Rysuei Shidowas-
A decoy?!
I see! Isagi thought. Shido never planned to recieve it in the first place!
When Sendo passed the ball, he was passing to Sae. Shido breaking free of Bachira, his run towards the ball route-
It was all a cover for Sae to sneak in front of the ball!
"What a hassle, are you guys even playing seriously?" Sae yawned as he was about to recieve the ball.
"We can't stop him!"
"No!"
"You want serious, underlashes?"
Sae's eyes widened, as in the last second-
The ball was snatched from in front of him.
He tried to stop the player by using his hands, but the unknown person just ducked and continued to blitz through. He then sent a diagonal pass to Isagi on the far side, which the midfielder recieved, dazed at the sudden turn of the match.
"This is my..."
Reo looked up grinning.
"role in this match!"
[You have used Panther Clamp to steal the ball!]
Reo made a diagonal run forward. Hayate attempted to mark him, but Reo just side stepped towards the right.
He's gonna go towards the right, and support #11 and #13! Hayate thought and moved towards the right to block him completely. But that split second was exactly what Reo needed. He feinted towards the right to confirm Hayate's suspicions and buy himself some more space, and then rushed diagonally towards the left.
What? Hayate froze. That was a feint?
He attempted to remark #14, but it was too late. Reo was too quick. He had already placed himself between Nagi, Nio and Neru. The two defenders mobbed him, and made sure to lock him in, and block all passing routes. It might result in both Nagi and Hiori breaking through and being free to revitalise the attack, but as far as they were concerned, Reo was the bigger threat.
Isagi rushed from the left side. Darai prepared himself, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw both Baro and Rin flanking him from both sides. He gritted his teeth and dashed at Isagi at the last second, and stuck his leg out to poke the ball. Isagi was taken aback, and narrowly avoided tripping by jumping over Darai's leg. By pure chance, the bag rolled below his leg, and Isagi recaptured it triumphantly.
All right,he thought. This is a sign from the universe, and I'm gonna win this clash! I'm gonna shoo-
"You think too much," a voice came in front of him. Isagi snapped his head, only to find himself looking at a certain defender running towards him. He seemed careless, but Isagi knew as well as anybody else that this serpent would snap up any shot given to it.
Dammit, I didn't consider it this far! Isagi screamed internally. I'll have to pass. Yes, that's the only way this attack doesn't die out. Rin? He looked at the mint haired striker on his right, then noticed Aiku's feet poised to leap and block. No, too risky. Baro then? He looked at the other striking, shooting him a glare because he hadn't got the ball fast enough. No, it'll just be wasted on him.
Who, then? Think, think! Thin-
"Isagi-kuuun~" He heard a familiar, singsong voice, with a playful tilt in it, at around 45 degrees left to his left. He didn't overthink. He simply passed with the back of his heel to Meguru Bachira.
Bachira recieved it with a grin," That's good, ne. I was beginning to think you forgot about me after playing with all these hotshots." The look vanished from his eyes, his focus turning razor-sharp as he looked for a recipient.
Why did I pass to him?! Isagi berated himself. I didn't mean to- it was all instinct!
Now Bachira is trapped too. There's no way we can move forward with this attack, we'll just fail! We have to-
Isagi paused as he looked at Bachira, who seemed to have regained his confidence, and lifted his leg back to pass.
On the midfield, Karasu grinned too, as both of them were sharing a private joke.
Huh? Why are they both grinning? Is Bachira gonna pass to Karasu? Isagi pondered, then shook his head. Impossible, he's too far away. But maybe-
A new move? A curved shot? Isagi theorised. Make your move already, Bachira Meguru!
As if on cue, Bachira kicked the ball, high into the air. Thousands of eyes followed it, as it soared through the air, curving slowly.
It's not Karasu! Then who-
"Hey, look at it going higher!"
"That idiot dribbler. Well,it's good for us, we'll get a throw-in."
The U20 players were relieved, thinking the attack had been killed by its own player. However, neither Karasu nor Bachira's grin faded, although they looked slightly tense.
As it soared over Nio, about to go out of bounds-
Suddenly,
A foot trapped it.