Chapter 27: Toying with the Provoking Opponent.

When Takumi and Kana arrived at Seinan High School, the venue for their practice match, a familiar black Prius was already parked there.

It belonged to Coach Kawabata.

“Good morning, Coach.”

“Good morning~!”

“You two are as early as always,” he said, the corners of his mouth softening slightly. Then he stared intently at both of them.

“…You look fine.”

“””Yes. Thank you.”””

Takumi and Kana bowed at the same time. They began unloading the team’s gear from the Prius trunk.

” Takumi.”

“Yes.”

“In just these past few days, you’ve improved beyond recognition. You’re practically a different person from when we last came here. That said, you still have plenty of issues left to work on. What do you think is the biggest one in a match?”

“Stamina… right?”

“Exactly.”

Takumi had been making his own efforts, but building proper stamina was proving difficult.

“I want you to focus even harder on physical conditioning from now on. But that’s not something that improves overnight. So for today’s first match, I’m putting you in from the start of the second half. Show me forty minutes of everything you’ve got.”

“Understood.”

Takumi gave a firm nod.

I’m definitely going to deliver.

He made that vow in his heart.

Once everyone except Takeoka had gathered, Coach Kawabata announced his punishment and that Miwa would become the new captain. Unsurprisingly, the news caused a stir.

Miwa and Reiko were doing their best to refocus everyone’s minds on the match, but it was clear that many players were still distracted.

It couldn’t be helped.

Humans naturally love gossip to some degree. Having a captain stripped of his position and suspended was no small punishment.

Telling them not to care would have been far more difficult.

“Hey, Takumi. What the hell did Takeoka-senpai actually do?”

During warm-ups, Masaru asked with sparkling eyes.

“Who knows? Must’ve been something pretty serious. But it’s none of our business, and right now we need to focus on the match.”

“Gahaha! Exactly! No point worrying about what we can’t know! More importantly, we’ve gotta get revenge on Seinan without our captain. It won’t be easy, gahahaha!”

“You’re really leaning into the underdog role, Daisuke.”

“Gahaha! It’d be interesting if the underdog actually won, wouldn’t it?”

“True enough.”

Though he was joking around, a fierce flame of competitiveness burned in Daisuke’s eyes. His overly quirky personality often made people overlook it, but he was an extremely sore loser. He clearly had no intention of losing to the same opponent twice.

After the exchange between Takumi and Daisuke, no one brought up Takeoka again.

(Daisuke is amazing. He can keep that mindset even without knowing the full story.)

Takumi was genuinely impressed. Still, as Daisuke himself had said, Takeoka’s absence was a heavy blow—not just mentally, but on the pitch itself. In fact, the loss on the field was even greater.

Takeoka was quick to lose his temper and often made poor decisions, but he had still been the cornerstone of the third-string defense. His talent was great enough to excuse his arrogant attitude.

By the end of the first half, Sakura High was trailing 0–2.

“Takumi, you’re up.”

“Yes!”

He had mostly been subbed in midway through the second half lately, so starting the half from the bench felt refreshingly new.

“Do your best, senpai! You’ve absolutely got this!”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Receiving encouragement from Kana and jealous glances from his teammates, Takumi stepped onto the pitch. The white sand reflected the sunlight harshly.

“Everyone, got a moment?”

Takumi called the whole team together. Miwa grinned expectantly, Masaru gave an encouraging nod, and Daisuke wore his usual bold smile. The rest of the members mostly looked doubtful.

“I’ve caused a lot of trouble for the team up until now. I know I’m still weaker than most of you. But I believe I can contribute now. With no captain on the field, adding me will increase the defensive burden. Even so, our soccer isn’t about winning 1-on-0. It’s about winning 4-on-3. Just this once is fine. I’ll make sure everyone gets a chance to score. So will you follow my instructions?”

“…You’re talking big, Takumi.”

Miwa’s lips curved into a smile. He looked intrigued.

“I’m fully aware how arrogant it sounds.”

Even so, he had confidence. And unless he pushed himself this hard, he wouldn’t be able to give it his all.

He also wanted to force his teammates’ attention onto the match in front of them. From the bench, it had been obvious that several players still weren’t fully focused.

“Alright. After kickoff, I’ll leave the attack to you. Use us however you want. Everyone okay with that? Right now, we need change.”

Not everyone nodded with full conviction at Miwa’s words, but no one voiced opposition.

Deep down, they all understood.

They couldn’t stay as they were right now.

And somewhere in their hearts, they were hoping.

Hoping that the recent Takumi could break through this near-worst situation.

“—Hey, isn’t that the guy who sucked last time coming on as a sub?”

“Oh, for real! That purple hair, I remember him.”

“Their momentum started from that guy’s mistake. What are they thinking?”

“Pretty much gave up on this match already, huh?”

“Probably!”

Seinan’s players pointed at Takumi and laughed mockingly.

“Takumi.”

Masaru held out his fist.

“Show them your true essence.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Gahaha! There are way more barky underdogs than me here! Can’t lose now!”

“Don’t compete over who’s the bigger underdog.”

Miwa lightly smacked Daisuke on the head. As the new third-string captain replacing Takeoka, he was usually calm and serious, but he wasn’t above using his hands—especially with Daisuke.

Laughter rippled through the team. The atmosphere had improved dramatically compared to the end of the first half.

Before kickoff, Takumi headed to the bench for a quick drink of water.

“Senpai! Show them what you’re made of!”

“Kisaragi-kun, there’s no way you’d lose to guys like that. Just play like you always do.”

They must have heard the jeers. Starting with Kana and Reiko, his teammates called out words of encouragement one after another.

It would be a lie to say he felt no pressure.

But more than that, Takumi felt excitement.

Not too hot, not too cold.

At that moment, he was in the perfect mental state as a player.

Naturally, his play was sharp as well.

In the first attack of the second half, Takumi deliberately slowed the team’s tempo. He kept passing the ball backward after receiving it.

“Hah, scared?”

(He’s saying pretty much the same thing the captain did.)

Takumi gave a wry smile at the provocation from the player marking him. Apparently that displeased the opponent, who began marking him even more tightly.

It was exactly what he wanted.

“Daisuke!”

He called for a pass at his feet.

“Heh, got it!”

Anticipating Takumi’s back pass, the opponent lunged forward. Having predicted that, Takumi turned smoothly and faced forward with plenty of time.

“Shit!”

While the opponent cursed behind him, Takumi passed to Masaru, who was running ahead. The ball moved smoothly, and just as Takumi had declared, Sakura High successfully scored within the first few minutes of the second half.

“Takumi, nice turn!”

“Beautiful!”

“Whoa, that turn was Nanno-level!”

“Gahaha! As expected of Takumi!”

More praise went to Takumi than to the player who actually scored. Because that unexpected turn had been the key to the goal.

While accepting the acclaim from those around him, Takumi thought:

This is usable.

(With my physical ability, they would’ve stolen that if they’d read it even a little. But just like with the captain, all I have to do is make them predict my play. Provoking them a bit is another good option. That last one wasn’t intentional, though.)

Mental warfare was also a legitimate tactic. Of course, he had no intention of insulting anyone.

“Don’t mind, that was just a fluke! We’re still winning, stay calm!”

“””Yeah!”””

Despite the words, frustration and impatience were clear on the Seinan players’ faces.

“Miwa-senpai.”

“Yeah, the momentum is ours now. Let’s pile on the pressure!”

“””Right!”””

From that point on, Sakura High shifted into a higher gear. Seinan couldn’t handle the ever-changing attacks revolving around Takumi.

In the end, Sakura High scored five goals in the second half.

Final score: 5–2.

They achieved a resounding victory that surpassed even the 4–3 score Takumi had mentioned.