The morning air was crisp, the sun barely up, and the soccer field was ready for another day of training.
Or at least, it should have been.
Shun, already warmed up, stood in the center of the field, waiting for the rest of his teammates. He turned his head slightly, and what did he see?
A group of zombies.
"Ughh… why do we have to wake up this early?"
"Coach is cruel… I could still be dreaming about food right now."
"Shun, you demon… why do you look so awake?!"
Shun sighed, stretching his arms.
"It's called discipline."
"It's called insanity."
A loud whistle blasted through the air.
Coach arrived.
"Alright, you lazy brats! Time for a practice match!"
The team groaned in unison.
"Coach, have mercy… my legs are still asleep."
"My soul is still asleep."
Some of them dropped to the ground, pretending to be injured, while others hid behind teammates.
Coach's eyebrow twitched.
"Oh? So none of you want to play? Fine. We'll just get replacements."
He turned to the sidelines.
"Oi, you girls over there. Get on the field."
Silence.
Shun blinked.
"Wait, what?!"
Standing at the side were Rika and some of her teammates from the U-17 girls' team. They had just finished their warm-ups and were definitely not expecting to be dragged into this mess.
Rika smirked, cracking her knuckles.
"Heh. This could be fun."
One of her teammates, Aya, frowned.
"Wait, wait, WAIT. We're playing against them?"
Another girl, Mika, laughed nervously.
"I feel like we're about to die."
Shun's team—half asleep, completely unmotivated—suddenly came to life.
"W-Wait, Coach! We changed our minds! We can play now!"
"Yeah, yeah! We're totally fine! No injuries!"
Coach: "Too late."
And with that, the match was set.
Shun rubbed his temples.
"This is going to be a disaster."
Rika grinned.
"You better not hold back, Shun."
Shun grinned back.
"You better not cry when you lose."
The intense match was about to begin.