Whoosh-
Karin broke through the opponent's defense and dribbled towards their goal.
"Way to go, Kurosaki! Keep going!!"
Seeing this, Karin's friends' morale soared, cheering and jumping for joy.
However, just as she was about to reach the opponent's goal, things suddenly changed!
Whoosh—
The leader of the middle school team appeared abruptly, sliding the ball and Karin down to the ground.
Thud!
Karin fell heavily to the ground.
"Ugh..."
Karin couldn't help but cry out in pain, clutching her right leg. The skin on her leg was scraped, and it was red and swollen.
Karin's friends, forgetting everything else, hurried over.
"Kurosaki!"
"Are you okay!"
"Those guys went too far!"
Karin's friends were grinding their teeth in anger.
"What's wrong? Can't take it anymore?"
The middle school team members taunted one by one.
"Shut up! This little scratch is nothing!!"
Karin gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand up, then said to her friends: "Okay, let's continue!"
"Ugh..."
Karin had only taken one step before she couldn't help but groan in pain, but she still forced herself to endure and continue the match.
Thud!
"—Score: 0–1"
Thud!
"—Score: 0–2"
Thud!
"—Score: 0–3"
Thud!
"—Score: 0–4"
The elementary schoolers were simply outmatched by the middle schoolers to begin with, and with the added handicap of their star player Karin being deliberately injured by the opponents, they stood even less of a chance.
So, as the match progressed, Karin and her team were undoubtedly getting thrashed. If this continued, the final score might rival a basketball game.
The first half ended.
Halftime.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
"Those middle schoolers are tough, huh..."
"If this keeps up, we'll definitely lose..."
Karin's friends were all exhausted, gasping for breath. Not only were they outmatched in stamina, but the widening score gap had also crushed their morale.
"Why are you all so down in the dumps?!"
Karin demanded loudly.
They worriedly said: "But if we keep going like this, Karin, your leg injury will get worse..."
"I told you, I'm fine! Look!"
Thud!
To prove she was fine, Karin immediately stomped her right foot hard on the ground.
"Ugh aaaaah—!!"
Karin's tears fell from the pain.
"S-see? I-I said it was f-fine..."
Karin said through gritted teeth, her face crumpled.
"..."
Everyone looked speechless. They didn't expect their big sister figure, Karin, to do something so silly.
"Karin, you shouldn't push yourse—"
Everyone started to persuade her.
But no matter how they tried, Karin insisted on continuing the match.
"Good grief, typical of the Kurosaki Family. Just as stubborn as Isshin and Ichigo."
Toshiro, hiding in the shadows, saw Karin still insisting on continuing the match and couldn't help but sigh helplessly in remark.
Yes, Toshiro had come, and he had arrived before the match even started.
The reason he hadn't shown himself was simply that he didn't want to get involved in children's affairs.
Whether elementary or middle schoolers, they were just a bunch of immature kids in Toshiro's eyes, so he hadn't originally intended to participate in their trivial soccer match.
But the middle school team had gone a bit too far. While Karin's team was no match for the middle schoolers, Karin's soccer skills were on par with theirs.
If the middle schoolers hadn't deliberately injured Karin's leg, Karin and her team would still have lost, but the score wouldn't have been so lopsided.
"Good grief, looks like this Captain has to show up. People in the Soul Society would laugh at me if they knew I was bullying human kids."
At this point, Toshiro had decided to personally help Karin and her friends.
Of course, Toshiro's final decision to act wasn't because the middle schoolers had gone too far, nor because Karin was Isshin's daughter and Ichigo's sister. It was simply because she was Kurosaki Karin.
Just as Karin felt an inexplicable fondness for Toshiro, Toshiro also felt a strange feeling for Karin, not wanting to see this strong-willed girl get hurt.
Toshiro felt a subtle sensation recalling that in his previous life, many people liked the pairing of him and Karin.
Incidentally, Toshiro actually disliked Momo in his previous life like everyone else and favored the pairing of Toshiro and Karin.
"Kurosaki, maybe we should call off the match. You should go to the hospital and get your leg looked at..."
Tap, tap, tap...
Just as Karin's friends continued trying to persuade her, a rhythmic sound of footsteps with a special cadence suddenly echoed.
"Ah! Everyone, look!"
One of Karin's friends, who was the goalkeeper, suddenly pointed behind the goal and shouted loudly.
"Huh?"
Everyone was taken aback for a moment, then looked in the direction he was pointing.
And then, not far away, amidst the windblown sand swirling outside the field, a figure appeared faintly.
"It's Toshiro!!"
Karin exclaimed happily.
When Toshiro finally walked up to them unhurriedly, Karin, who had been beaming, suddenly tensed her face and said in a slightly aggrieved tone: "You're too late, Toshiro!"
"Good grief, I don't recall ever making a definite promise to come."
Toshiro said, looking somewhat troubled.
'Really, I'm not your dad, Kurosaki Isshin, so why are you talking to me in that pitiful, whiny tone?' Toshiro grumbled inwardly.
"Hey, who's that guy?"
Seeing Toshiro suddenly appear, seemingly on Karin's side, the middle schoolers also ran over and asked.
"Hmph! Toshiro is also a member of our team! He was just late because of something, so now it's our turn to counterattack!!"
Karin shouted loudly, full of confidence.
"Heh, don't you think it's a little too late for reinforcements?"
Seeing that Toshiro looked like just another 'elementary schooler' like Karin and her friends, the middle schoolers didn't take him seriously at all, dismissing his addition to the team.
"Alright, let's continue the match! We're going to catch up in one go!!"
Karin said.
And so, Toshiro replaced one of Karin's friends and joined the match.
Beeeep—
With the whistle, the second half began.
Whoosh!
Right from the start, the leader of the middle school team, as before, stole the ball from Karin and charged towards Karin's team's goal.
But before he could run far, Toshiro's figure flashed past him like lightning, and by the time he realized it, the ball was no longer at his feet.
After stealing the ball, Toshiro dribbled past three players in succession, charging towards the opponent's goal like a hot knife through butter.
Thud!
Nearing the opponent's goal, Toshiro unleashed a powerful shot, sending both the goalkeeper and the ball into the net.
Beeeep—
"—Score: 1–4"
Thud!
"—Score: 2–4"
Thud!
"—Score: 3–4"
Thud!
"—Score: 4–4"
Toshiro was unstoppable, showing off fancy footwork and various cool techniques, scoring four consecutive goals to tie the score.
"Awesome!"
Karin and her friends cheered and jumped for joy.
Then Toshiro broke through the opponent's defense again and charged towards their goal.
"Way to go, Toshiro! Just shoot and seal the win!!"
Karin ran alongside Toshiro, keeping pace with him.
Toshiro glanced at Karin beside him and suddenly passed the ball to her feet.
"This is your team, so you should take the final, game-winning shot!"
Toshiro said.
There wasn't much time left in the match... probably one more goal would end it. Toshiro decided to let Karin take this final, decisive shot.
"Yeah!"
Karin looked deeply at Toshiro, then nodded firmly.
"Haah!"
Karin yelled, charged to the opponent's goal, and with a thud, kicked the ball.
Whoosh!
The ball sailed past the goalkeeper's desperate dive and into the back of the net.
Beeeep—
"—Score: 8–4"
"The match is over!"
With the referee's final whistle, the match concluded with Karin's team victorious.