24th March 2025
'Okay... Kisaki will probably try to dribble past me-'
Kisaki dashes forwards so fast Ren lags a bit before realising.
'Dammit! Body, run!'
Ren puts his all into running, he runs faster than he ever did and his stamina's draining quickly. But he slams into Kiskaki, who holds onto the ball. But Ren can tell that he's physically stronger than him.
'Hm? Kisaki is a lot weaker than I thought...
I can beat him physically!'
Ren jabs his foot out, rolling the ball forward. Ren pushes his body to the limit again and gets it first.
"You..." He's wheezing heavily "...How old are you?" Ren asks.
"14..."
'WHAT!? He's that young!? Then I have to win!'
Ren starts running with the ball, but he's slower trying to conserve stamina...
But Kisaki seems to just be there, marking him almost instantly...
Kisaki shoves his foot out to grab the ball...
'Dammit! I can't win against this kid!'
Everything seems to move in slowmotion for Ren...
'No!... I can't give up yet! Think Ren! THINK!'
Suddenly the whole match plays in his head, his heart rate slows.
'Yorunobu Kisaki is an overwhelmingly skill focused player... He predicts everything... Can I out predict him?'
Currently Ren's right foot in on top of the ball, but Kisaki has most of his weight lunging forward towards the ball.
'If I just roll it to the left... No... That won't work...
...
How will this make me the world's best!?
...
...Roulette!'
Ren executes a perfect roulette and spins around Kisaki, and suddenly a supreme sense of jubilee overcomes him. But he isn't guaranteed a goal just yet.
He sees Kisaki running up the right wing, with a foul look on his face, looking to get to his net to protect it.
'Should I shoot from here? He won't be able to get to it... But my shooting accuracy is horrible... If I get into the box though... I could place a shot better...'
Ren dashes to the box and enters it, but Kisaki is planted infront of the net.
'This kid can jump insanely high and fast, and he can predict extremely well... What's a shot that's unpredictable and fast?'
...
Ren kicks the ball, and Kisaki's face drops as it heads for the top-left corner, but it seems like Kisaki will be able to header it out of the net, most likely securing a fourth goal for Kisaki.
"Knuckle Ball!"
The ball changes direction super fast and at an almost 90 degree angle. Kisaki reflexively sticks his foot out, but it's too slow.
The ball swooshes into the top right corner, as Kisaki collapses against the post.
3-2
Ren doesn't do an over the top celebration this time, he just grins from ear to ear.
'I'm evolving!'
Kisaki gets up, and Ren can see his face. His mouth is twisted into a deep scowl, his eyes piercing a hole through his soul.
"Give me the ball..." Kisaki orders.
He places the ball on the kickoff line.
He glances at Ren, those same eyes, filled with anger.
Kisaki bounces the ball off the ground straight at kickoff, and he slams his foot into it.
Ren's senses have hightened this game so he could tell that was very skillful, he hit the underside of the ball with the outside of his foot, which was angled at 45 degrees.
"You think that fucking knuckle shot was cool!? KOKUGETSU STRIKE! 黒月撃!!!"
The ball whirls through the air, faster than a train, it looks like it missed, but it changes direction and slams into the ground. But Kisaki gave it insane backspin so it eats up the ground and propels itself into the net.
4-2
"One more goal... You're no where near my level!" Kisaki screams.