14.SEIKAN HIGH VS HOKUSHIN HIGH

The crowd in the stand buzzed with energy, a lively mix of nervous chants, clashing school colors, and the thump of warm-up drums. Inside, the quarterfinal between Seikan High and Hokushin High was just minutes from kickoff.

Masaki's mom spot one person not far from her sit the she said

"Over here! Asuka-chan! This way!"

Asuka blinked. "Huh? Oh—me?"

Masaki's mom grinned wide, ushering her up into the row. "You came to cheer for my son, didn't you? That makes you family."

Asuka laughed, cheeks a bit red. "I guess I did… thank you."

Nana leaned over from the seat beside her mom. "Welcome to the chaos. Hope you're ready for ninety minutes of yelling, snacks, and secondhand embarrassment."

Asuka plopped into her seat next to Nana, that holding a bucket of popcorn like it was treasure. "This feels less like a match and more like we're prepping for a movie premiere," she whispered.

Masaki's dad, lounging behind them with his sunglasses halfway down his nose, chuckled. "Movie? Girl, this is war. And my boy's the general."

Masaki's mom elbowed him. "Stop scaring the children. He's just kicking a ball, not storming a castle."

Asuka grinned. "Still… should've brought a helmet. Or at least snacks with armor."

Masaki's little sister, Nana, piped up from the other side. "Trust me, you'll need popcorn and tissues. When Niichan scores, Mom turns into a drama queen."

"I do not!" Masaki's mom cried, clutching her chest like a telenovela actress. "I'm just emotionally invested!"

Asuka laughed so hard she almost dropped her drink. "This is the most dramatic cheering squad I've ever sat with."

"Wait till you see her when the ref makes a bad call," Masaki's dad added, pointing at his wife. "She once threw her shoe. Her shoe, I tell you."

Asuka blinked. "…Please tell me it hit someone."

"Almost. It hit the flagpole. Whole crowd clapped," Nana said proudly.

They all burst into laughter. Meanwhile, on the field, Masaki was warming up with his team all serious, focused, in his zone. Not once did he glance toward the stands.

"He looks… different today," she said quietly.

"Oh, this is his zone face," Nana said, chewing gum. "He won't look up till he scores. Then he'll act cool, but you'll see the grin under it."

Asuka laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm looking forward to it."

⸻

On the Pitch

Down on the field, Masaki stared across the line at Hokushin High. Their players moved in calculated formation, stretching together like a unit.

The players lined up for the handshake.

Rindou Akira, Hokushin's captain, had slicked silver hair and a cocky calm. His grip was firm but his words slicker.

"Big names. Bigger egos," he said, eyeing the Seikan frontline. "Let's see how long the flash lasts."

Masaki held eye contact. "Let see."

Rindou raised a brow. "Ohh calm eh"

Masaki smiled faintly. "I let my play do the talk."

Taro, walking past, whispered, "Keep your heads, boys. Focus on the game"

⸻

Kickoff

Whistle.

From the get-go, Seikan moved with intent.

Misugi started it off with a sharp diagonal to Taira, who instantly dropped a touch pass to Aoi. Quick ball to Taro, overlap from Jito, and Masaki shifted wide to stretch the defense.

The ball moved so fast that Hokushin's shape broke before they could settle.

"Oi!" Ishizaki shouted from the back. "They're already chasing!"

Masaki drifted centrally, pulled two defenders, then sent a flick through to Hyuga, who quick shot to the goal but the ball get tipped by the keeper and out of the field.

"Corner already?" Soda smirked. "This is gonna be fun."

The referee blew the whistle

corner kick for Seikan.

Misaki Taro jogged to the flag in the right corner with ball in hand while scanning the box.

Masaki stood outside the penalty area,

Hokushin defenders hesitated, unsure whether to mark him tight or ignore him.

Then the whistle chirped again.

Taro's delivery wasn't a lofted cross into the box but it was a sharp, low pass whipped just outside the penalty arc finding masaki.

Masaki's eyes lit up.

He exploded forward, timing his run perfectly and perfectly get the ball.

One touch.

The defender reacted but Masaki's second touch was a devastating cut to the left, so quick it left the defender fall.

And then came the shot just outside the box.

Left foot. No hesitation.

He curled it with smooth, fast, and deadly that bending away from the keeper and tucking it perfectly into the top left corner.

GOAL.

1–0.

In just 2 minute seikan already score

Nana nearly dropped her juice. "THAT'S MY BROTHER!!"

Masaki's dad grinned

And as they reset for kickoff, the scoreboard flashed bright:

Seikan High 1 – 0 Hokushin High

And Masaki Renjirou was just warming up.

⸻

Masaki took his time early, following the coach's clear instructions.

Keep it clean. Keep it patient.

The defenders of Hokushin High were aggressive man-marking playertightly, closing down space. Their captain, Rindou Akira give orders non-stop with directing the press.

But Seikan didn't panic.What they do is short and fast pass.

Jun Misugi collected in midfield and pass it back to Gen'ichiro Taira, who already know where to pass and during that time masaki is in the half-space just outside the right side of the box.

Taira didn't force it to do high pass. He rolled it sideways just to Shingo Aoi, who instantly pass it back to Misaki Taro. One-touch.

Hyuga cut inside, dragging the left-back with him.

That was the trigger.

Masaki accelerated.

Misaki Taro saw the run. He chipped it with a soft loft, not high, just enough. Finding Masaki

Then he perfectly trap the ball with his chest and then laid it off diagonally straight into Hyuga's path 

Masaki sprinted again, and Taira had already ghosted to the top of the box, faking a run to pull a defender wide.

Hyuga slipped the ball back through the seam between two defenders.

He paused. Waited. Looked left.

And there it was, Soda had made an overlapping run from the left flank.

Hyuga square it.

Soda crossed high and fast across the face of goal.

And Taro Misaki, the captain, arrived like a lightning heading the ball

GOAL.

2–0.

Seikan High 2 – 0 Hokushin High.

One perfect team goal

⸻

Hokushin tried to regroup. The coach scream orders and they quickly switched into a more tighter man-marking system, especially shadowing Hyuga now.

Captain Rindou took matters into his own hands.

During a throw-in delay, he go over next to Hyuga, voice low mouthed something.

"You score goals against second-rate schools, Hyuga. Let's see what you do when someone actually hits back. Or are you just riding Masaki's spotlight?"

Hyuga didn't even blink.Not really care with that talk.

Play resumed.

The ball zipped around Seikan went into full flow. Aoi to Misaki. Taira pulled a marker. Misaki drew two defenders and then give low pass to hyuga.

Hyuga didn't hesitate.

One touch Shot that so fast like a tiger shot into the goalpost with keeper cannot do nothing and just watch .

GOAL. 3–0.

As the net rippled and the crowd exploded, Hyuga turned toward Rindou, just a slow walk with a smirk.

"You were saying something earlier?" Hyuga called out, loud enough for the linesman to glance over.

Rindou stared in silence, fists clenching.

Hyuga lifted one fingers.

"One goal for each time you talked too much."

⸻

Second Half

Taro, Taira, and Masaki formed a rotating triangle of chaos no one stood still, no pass was wasted. Every touch had a purpose. It was like watching football ballet at x2 speed.

Taira → Masaki → Hyuga → Taro → Masaki…

And just as the defense started spinning from all the one-twos…

Masaki looked up, saw the keeper charging early — and with zero hesitation, he chipped it.

Soft. Elegant. A perfect arc over the outstretched gloves.

4–0.

⸻

But they weren't done.

Another wave.

Misugi got the ball on the wing, dummied a pass, slipped it to Aoi cutting in.

Aoi → Taro at the edge of the box.

Taro didn't shoot. He chipped it forward 

 float pass.

Masaki timed it perfectly.

Snuck behind the last defender

He just stuck out his toe and poked it gently that nutmeg over the oncoming keeper.

GOAL

The net rippled like a curtain in the wind.

5–0.

Masaki ran back to celebrate his goal, doing the siuuuu pose.

"I hate how cool he thinks he is," Nana whispered. "But I also love it."

Their dad leaned in. "He gets it from your mom."

"Don't drag me into your talk" his mom replied, laughing.

⸻

Final Blow

Aoi's rocket made it 6–0.

Then came a Hyuga header from a Masaki no-look lob.

7–0.

End of Match

Rindou approached them, still sweaty and frustrated.

"You all playing like you're dancing. Annoying as hell."

Misaki Taro offered a genuine smile. "Then maybe we will join dancing club next time."

Rindou chuckled. "Whatever. You guys deserve this win, make it to the national and wreak havoc there and win the interhigh for us."

⸻

Coach stepped in with his clipboard.

"Proud. Very proud. You didn't just win, you controlled that game. That's the kind of football we've been working for. But don't relax the semifinals will test everything."

"Got it, Coach!" the team chimed in, clapping and cheering.

Soda leaned against the lockers. "Hey Masaki, don't forget to take it easy next time. You played like you were possessed."

"I was just… having fun."

Hyuga threw a towel at him. "Save some magic for the national, will you?"

⸻