The whistle cut through the silence.
Play resumed.
5 0.
No shouting this time.
No panic.
No frustration spilling over.
Just… quiet.
Riku stepped forward.
Back into position.
Like nothing happened.
Yusuke watched him for a second.
"…Don't disappear again," he said.
Riku didn't look at him.
"…Then don't make me," he replied.
Kickoff.
Hiroto received.
"Slow," he said. "We control this."
The ball moved.
Hiroto → Takumi.
Takumi → Sora.
Sora → back.
Simple.
Safe.
No risks.
Nocturne didn't press immediately.
They didn't need to.
They just watched.
"…They've changed," Theo said quietly from the side.
Réservoir nodded.
"…They're protecting themselves now."
"…Too late," Marc added.
The ball kept moving.
Southside held possession longer than before.
Small passes.
Careful movement.
Trying to rebuild something.
Anything.
Riku received.
This time
he passed immediately.
No hesitation.
No attempt to push.
"…We're not playing to win," Yuma muttered.
"Then stop losing the ball," Takumi shot back.
Yuma clicked his tongue.
Didn't argue.
The ball came back again.
Hiroto.
He scanned.
Nothing open.
Everything closed.
"…They're letting us have it," he said.
"…Yeah," Sora replied.
"…Because it doesn't matter."
The words hung there.
Heavy.
Hiroto forced a forward pass anyway.
Yusuke.
He received.
Lucien stepped in.
Close.
Tight.
Yusuke held for a second.
Then
lost it.
Clean.
Lucien didn't even struggle.
He passed immediately.
Marc.
Then
Réservoir.
The shift came instantly.
From slow
to fast.
"Back!" Hiroto shouted.
Too late.
Theo was already running.
Ren chased.
Matched him.
This time
no taunt.
No words.
Just movement.
Theo cut inside.
Ren stayed.
Forced him wide.
Good.
Better.
Theo didn't force it.
He passed.
Jules.
Back.
Reset.
Nocturne slowed again.
Controlled.
Measured.
"…They're not even trying," Yuma said.
"They are," Yusuke replied.
"They just don't need to try hard."
The ball moved again.
Réservoir held it.
Looked up.
Then
passed.
Aka.
Of course.
He received.
And for once
he didn't sprint.
Didn't break.
He just stood there.
"…What?" Kaito muttered.
Aka tapped the ball lightly.
Once.
Twice.
"…You've changed," he said.
No one answered.
"…But not enough."
Then
he moved.
Not explosive.
Controlled.
He pushed forward.
Kaito stepped in.
Aka passed.
Simple.
Marc.
Then
Theo.
Then
back again.
The ball circled.
Pulling Southside apart.
Piece by piece.
"…Stay compact!" Hiroto shouted.
They tried.
They really did.
But every movement
came just a second too late.
Every shift
just slightly off.
The ball slipped through again.
Réservoir.
He stepped forward.
No pressure.
No rush.
Then
a through pass.
Clean.
Perfect.
Jules ran onto it.
Inside the box.
Tsubasa stepped out.
Shot
Saved.
Good reaction.
The ball deflected wide.
Corner.
"…Finally," Daichi muttered.
Something to hold onto.
Something small.
The corner was taken quickly.
Theo delivered it.
High.
Dangerous.
Daichi jumped.
Cleared.
But not far.
Marc picked it up.
Outside the box.
He didn't rush.
Didn't panic.
He waited.
Then
shot.
Low.
Through traffic.
Tsubasa reacted late
The ball hit the post.
Rebound.
Aka was already there.
Of course he was.
He didn't celebrate.
Didn't rush.
Just tapped it in.
Goal.
6 0.
No reaction.
None.
Southside didn't shout.
Didn't argue.
They just stood there.
"…Yeah," Yuma muttered.
"…That's about right."
Riku looked at the ground.
Then up.
"…We're still here," he said quietly.
No one responded.
The ball rolled back again.
The whistle blew.
And the game continued.
But the result
was already starting to feel decided.