The crowd roared as the score evened out but Kei didn't glance at the scoreboard.His eyes were locked on the smallest detail possible the opponent's right back kept glancing up every six seconds.Tiny looks like clockwork.Why?
Kei stepped back during a throw-in pretending to tie his laces.His mind replayed the last five attacks in reverse.The positioning the way their wingers drifted.The way the striker always stayed just outside Dazai's blind spot
It clicked
"They're not trying to beat us.They're trying to survive us"
He muttered it like a confession
Amano looked confused but didn't press
Kei stepped back in and repositioned himself five meters further left than usual
Ren noticed but said nothing
Play resumed
And then everything started to crumble
Not for Kei
For them
The opponent's rhythm wobbled like a bridge with one screw loose
They had memorized the wrong version of Seikan
They'd been studying them like they were static
But this team changed
Every game
Every minute
Kei's eyes narrowed
He began testing his theory
A simple switch play to Amano that pulled three markers
Then a long pass back to Dazai
Not for attack
For data
And what he saw in the retreat confirmed it
"They're scared to lose momentum more than they're trying to win"
That was the difference
Kei started grinning
A slow dangerous kind of grin
Because he knew something now
Something only losers notice
Fear
And fear was already sitting in their bones like a virus waiting to activate
He didn't need a goal to win this half
He just needed to show them how much they were pretending not to shake