The whistle blew.
Kickoff.
Again.
Riku didn't speak this time.
Didn't mutter.
Didn't shout.
He tapped the ball back.
Controlled.
Measured.
But his eyes
weren't calm.
Hiroto received.
"Reset," he said quickly. "We don't force anything."
"Yeah?" Yuma snapped. "And just let them walk over us again?"
"Shut up and move," Takumi cut in. "You're making it worse."
The tension was different now.
Not panic.
Not confusion.
Frustration.
The ball moved.
Hiroto to Takumi.
Takumi to Sora.
Quick.
Simple.
Trying to rebuild.
But Nocturne didn't rush.
They didn't need to.
Réservoir hovered.
Watching.
Waiting.
"…Now they slow down," he muttered.
"…Too late."
Sora pushed forward.
One touch.
Two.
Lucien stepped in.
Not tackling.
Just closing.
Cutting the angle.
"…Move it," Sora said.
He passed.
Riku.
The ball reached him.
And this time
he didn't rush.
He stopped it.
Dead.
Aka was already watching.
"…Oh?"
Riku lifted his head slightly.
"…I see you too."
For the first time
he didn't chase.
He held.
Aka didn't move.
The field slowed.
Everyone felt it.
"…Don't freeze," Hiroto called.
"Play!"
Riku moved.
Sharp turn.
Réservoir stepped in instantly.
"…Better," Réservoir said.
Riku shifted the ball away.
Not forward.
Sideways.
Takumi.
"…Good," Takumi said. "Keep it moving."
The ball rotated.
Takumi → Hiroto → Sora → back to Takumi.
Short passes.
Building rhythm.
Forcing movement.
Forcing Nocturne to react.
Theo stepped in to press.
Yuma dropped.
"Here!"
Takumi slipped it forward.
Yuma received.
Back to goal.
Marc Pelletier pressed instantly.
Heavy contact.
"Turn!" Yuma shouted.
But he couldn't.
Marc didn't give space.
Yuma forced it anyway.
Lost it.
"…DAMN IT!"
Marc didn't even react.
Just passed.
Clean.
Réservoir again.
"…Predictable," he said.
He moved forward slightly.
Drawing attention.
Then
quick pass.
Theo.
Wide again.
Ren moved early this time.
Cutting the lane.
"You're not getting that again."
Theo smirked.
"Let's test that."
He pushed forward.
Ren stayed with him.
Step for step.
This time
no cut inside.
Theo went wide.
Fast.
Then
cross.
High.
Dangerous.
Daichi tracked it.
Jumped.
Cleared.
The ball dropped near midfield.
Riku.
He stepped in.
Controlled it clean.
"…Now," he said.
Yusuke moved.
Not fast.
Precise.
Into space.
Riku saw it.
Passed.
Clean.
Yusuke received.
Lucien closed immediately.
But Yusuke didn't hold.
One touch.
Back.
Riku again.
"…Again," Riku said.
This time
he pushed forward.
Direct.
Réservoir stepped in.
"…There it is," Réservoir said.
Riku didn't stop.
He cut slightly.
Avoided the first contact.
Then
lost it.
Réservoir took it clean.
"…Still obvious."
The shift happened instantly.
Nocturne moved.
Fast.
Structured.
Marc → Theo → back to Réservoir.
Then
a pause.
A gap.
And Aka stepped into it.
Like he had always been there.
The ball reached him.
Everything tightened.
Yuma stepped.
Kaito moved.
Daichi held.
Three players.
Again.
Aka smiled.
"…Same answer?"
He moved.
Not fast.
Just enough.
Yuma lunged.
Missed.
Kaito stepped.
Aka rolled the ball past him.
Daichi shifted.
Aka stopped.
Everything froze again.
"…You still don't get it," Aka said quietly.
Riku came in from behind.
Fast.
Focused.
This time
he didn't aim for the ball.
He aimed for the path.
Aka moved.
Riku followed.
For a second
they matched.
Perfectly.
"…Oh?" Aka tilted his head.
Riku pushed harder.
Closed the angle.
Forced him wider.
"…You learned," Aka said.
Then
he passed.
Suddenly.
Réservoir.
The defense shifted.
Too fast.
Too much.
"Center!" Hiroto shouted.
But it was already breaking.
Réservoir held the ball.
Waited.
Then
threaded it through.
A narrow line.
Between two defenders.
Theo ran onto it.
Inside now.
Closer.
Tsubasa stepped forward.
Theo shot
Blocked.
Yuma.
The ball bounced.
Loose.
Dangerous.
Jules stepped in
Shot
Saved.
Tsubasa got a hand to it.
The ball deflected.
Still alive.
And then
Aka.
Again.
He didn't rush.
Didn't panic.
He watched it fall.
Then stepped forward.
One touch.
Control.
Second touch
shot.
Clean.
Bottom corner.
No hesitation.
Goal.
3 0.
Silence.
Complete.
Riku stood still.
"…So that's it."
Yuma dropped his head.
"…We're getting destroyed."
"No," Yusuke said.
Everyone looked at him.
His eyes were locked forward.
"…We're just late."
Aka turned slowly.
Looked at him.
"…Then stop being late."
The ball rolled back again.
The whistle hadn't blown yet.
But the gap
was already clear.