The day before the Phoenix match
The Vortex team was told to rest
No intense drills
Just tactical prep
Some casual warm-ups
A bit of fun to keep the tension away
But Reiji wasn't resting
Coach Hiroshi tried stopping him
"You're gonna burn out before kickoff"
Reiji just stared at the whiteboard
At the big red marker circling Phoenix's formation
"I'm not chasing fitness
I'm chasing gaps"
Coach shook his head
"Fine
Just don't skip lunch again"
---
Meanwhile
Down in Osaka
An old man flipped through a dusty scrapbook
Newspaper clippings
Photos
One in particular
A youth tournament photo
In the middle
Three kids holding a trophy
One of them was Reiji
The others were blurred
The old man grunted
"So it's really him
He's still playing"
He closed the scrapbook
Took out an old USB stick
Then dialed a number
"Yeah
Get me Vortex Youth
Tell them I got something the ghost boy needs to see
Before it's too late"
---
Back in Tokyo
Reiji returned to the dorm
Eyes red
Not from crying
But from pure focus
Leo met him halfway
"Yo
There's someone downstairs asking for you
Looks like a retired coach
Real serious face"
Reiji blinked
Didn't react
Just followed
At the lobby
An old man stood holding a USB and a sealed envelope
He didn't even greet
Just handed both to Reiji
"Your father didn't just quit football
He quit the truth
You need to know why Arcadia erased you
And who gave the order"
Before Reiji could say a word
The old man walked away
---
Back in his room
He plugged in the USB
A single video file
Titled:
"Caged Talent: Osaka Incident Confidential"
Reiji clicked play
The footage showed a youth training ground
Different angle
Security cam
Date marked: four years ago
He watched as his younger self took the field
Dominate as usual
But then
He saw something else
Renji and another Arcadia official
In a corner
Watching him
The audio was faint
But the subtitles burned into Reiji's eyes
"He's too smart
Too uncontrollable
If we bring him in
He'll either take over
Or burn everything"
The official whispered
"Then let's erase his record
Say he failed the trial
Nobody will question us"
Renji nodded
Smiling
---
Reiji paused the video
His hands trembling
So it wasn't a misunderstanding
It wasn't a mistake
It was a hit
A silent assassination of his future
Arcadia didn't just reject him
They feared him
---
He opened the envelope
Inside was a single name
Written in bold ink
Takamura Ginjiro
Arcadia Head of Youth Development
And
His father's former teammate
Reiji stared at it for a long moment
Then laughed quietly
Not out of humor
But like someone waking up from a long dream
"So that's it
You didn't want me to be better
You wanted me gone"
---
Next morning
Match day
Stadium lights ready
Camera trucks parked
Fans queuing outside wearing masks with "67" printed on them
Vortex's bus pulled in
Media swarmed the parking lot
Reiji stepped out last
No reaction
No wave
Just a calm walk through the chaos
Inside the locker room
He stood in front of his teammates
"I'm not asking you to trust me
I'm asking you to let me take the blame if this fails"
Leo smirked
"If we lose
We all go down together
Ghost or not"
---
Outside
Phoenix's lineup was announced
In the center
Number 10
Renji Kurogami
Cameras zoomed in on him
He winked
"They brought a ghost to a war
Let's show them what happens when the living don't fear death"