I didn't know what to say to him in that moment, so I just gave him a pat on the back and said.
"You fought well."
Then I turned and made my way toward the locker room, my match against Meiwa was coming up next.
On the way, I passed Aoba, heading in Misugi's direction.
In the locker room.
"We've come this far." said Coach Ikeda, his voice firm and full of fire. "And we're not stopping today!"
He scanned the room, looking at each of us in the eyes. "Listen up, go all in."
"Yes, Coach!" we all shouted back in unison.
"The second semifinal of the day is about to begin!" announced the commentator with excitement.
"It's a clash between the tournament favorite, Meiwa FC, and one of the fiercest contenders since the start, Azumaichi FC! Two teams led by the top scorers of the competition.
Kojiro Hyuga and Shin Orochi!"
We stepped onto the field, greeted by thunderous applause from the crowd.
As we lined up for the pre-match salute, I spotted my grandparents sitting in the stands. Not far from them, I saw Madame Kaori taking a seat, the scout from Toho Academy.
It was time to take our positions on the field.
Then the commentator presented the teams, and said. "Ah—my apologies, dear audience. It seems there's been a change, Meiwa is fielding a different goalkeeper today, named Ken Wakashimazu!"
"I should've guessed..." I murmured to myself.
In the stands.
"Tsubasa, who do you think will win?" asked Ishizaki.
"I think it'll be Meiwa." Wakabayashi replied next to him. "We've got a score to settle with them."
Tsubasa nodded silently in agreement.
Back on the field.
The whistle blew—kickoff.
Meiwa started with the ball, and it went straight to Hyuga's feet."Shin, let's settle this now!" shouted Hyuga.
"Let's do this, Kojiro." I replied.
I rushed toward Hyuga, just as he charged in my direction. "Take this!" he shouted, firing a shot aimed straight at my torso. But instead of getting hit, I managed to control the ball.
"What?!" Hyuga exclaimed, shocked.
Taking advantage of his surprise, I dribbled past him and charged toward Meiwa's goal, weaving through the defenders in my path. Then I fired a curling shot aimed for the top corner.
But Wakashimazu dived and caught the ball cleanly in midair, landing with a flip.
"What a stunning save by Wakashimazu!!" shouted the commentator.
"Nice one, Wakashimazu!" called Hyuga.
"The next one's going in." I told him calmly.
"As long as I'm here, you won't be scoring any goals today." he answered back, and booted the ball forward.
Takeshi received it.
"Send it!" called Hyuga.
Takeshi passed him the ball, but before it could reach him—
"It's mine!" shouted Soda, intercepting it brilliantly. He passed it immediately to Nakai just ahead of him.
But a Meiwa player slid in, deflecting the ball as it reached Nakai.It bounced toward the center of the field.
I ran in to collect it, accelerating once more toward their goal. Three defenders gave chase.
I dribbled past one, then leapt to avoid a sliding tackle from another, still keeping the ball with me midair. While airborne, I passed it to Ide up ahead.
He caught the ball and took the shot—But Wakashimazu blocked it again, this time without even flinching.
"Argh! I should've hit it harder." Ide said, frustrated.
This time, Wakashimazu launched the ball deep into our half, straight to Hyuga. He took off toward our goal and unleashed a powerful shot that smashed into the net.
"Kojiro Hyuga opens the score!" the commentator exclaimed.
"Sorry, guys." said Tsuji, unable to stop Hyuga's shot.
"It's fine. Pull yourself together." I told him as we got back in position for the kickoff.
The match resumed.
"Pass me the ball." I called to Kuramochi behind me. He passed it, and I started advancing up the field.
One defender tried to take the ball from me, I spun with a roulette, then followed it up with another roulette on the opponent closing in from behind.
"Stop him!" shouted Kojiro Hyuga.
But I kept moving forward until I found myself in front of the goal again. I faked a shot with my right foot, Wakashimazu shifted toward the left post, predicting a shot that way.
Then I faked again, this time with my left foot.
Now sure the real shot was coming, Wakashimazu pushed off the left post to dive to the right side of the goal.
'I know your techniques, Wakashimazu.' I thought to myself— Then struck the ball for real, with the outside of my left foot, sending it low and precise into the bottom-left corner of the net.
"It's the equalizer from Orochi Shin!" the commentator shouted.
"I told you, the next one was going in." I said to Wakashimazu, who was still on the ground.
"Shit!" he said, hitting the ground.
"Get up, count on me, it won't happen again." said Hyuga.
In the stands.
"What a goal." said Tsubasa.
Elsewhere in the stands.
"That's my grandson!" shouted my grandfather.
"Sit down, Nagi." my grandmother told him.
Back on the field, the match had resumed.
"I have to prove I'm the best… I can't lose now." said Hyuga, casting a glance toward Madam Kaori in the crowd.
I found myself in a one-on-one against Hyuga. He was trying to use his strength to overpower me.
"Move." he said.
"No." I replied with a slight chuckle, which irritated Hyuga, making his movements easier to read.
As he launched into a dribble, I used a backheel pass toward Kuramochi, who was behind me. He picked it up and moved forward, then passed to Nakai on the left. Nakai quickly relayed it to Mihashi, our left winger, while I sprinted upfield, Hyuga chasing right behind me.
Mihashi sent a cross into the box.
Just as I got there, I went for the volley, but Hyuga stuck his foot in, and now the ball was caught between us,
both our legs swinging to strike it at the exact same time.
The commentator exclaimed.
"It's a fierce fight we're witnessing!"