Rain tapped against the windows of the empty gym as Kei sat alone on the hardwood floor watching old match recordings on mute.Not to study their opponents.But to study themselves
How do you erase your own shadow?
By creating new ones
Training sessions turned into chaos on purpose.Players switched roles mid-play.Kei even had Amano acting like a reckless forward just to mess with any potential analysts
Every camera feed watching them from the outside would catch nothing but contradictions
Amano flopped a shot on purpose.Dazai deliberately made a wrong run.Ren passed backwards instead of going for his usual flair dribble
Kei had one goal
Corrupt the memory data
Make any past information obsolete
But it came at a cost
Confusion set in.Players grew frustrated
"This isn't real football," Ren muttered after training
"It's war," Kei replied
Then came match day
The enemy had eyes in the stands again.Same guy with a hoodie.Same phone filming every detail
Kei ignored him
The kickoff felt normal but the tempo didn't
Kei played like a different player.His touches were jagged.Deliberate mistakes followed by moments of brilliance
The other team hesitated
They'd studied a different Crownless
They'd memorized a lie
By halftime the score was 2–0 in Crownless's favor
Coach Isagi didn't say much during the break.Just looked at Kei and gave a rare nod
It wasn't just tactics anymore
It was deception
Amano grinned as they stepped back out
"We're not a team," he said
"We're a myth," Kei answered
Second half started
And for once
The past held no power over the present