hey say the field doesn't speak.But they're wrong.
It whispers at dawn.Crackles in the wind.Roars when the fire stirs beneath your feet.
I was never meant to be here.Not on this pitch. Not in this academy. Not with them.But here I am. Barefoot. Uninvited. Undeniable.
The sky stretches wide above me — orange and gold bleeding across clouds like bruises.Beneath me, the grass is soaked in dew, cold enough to numb the soles of my feet.But my blood?It's boiling.
They said I was too reckless.Too wild.Too dangerous to control.
Good. Let them say it again.
A memory flashes like lightning in my skull —
"You'll never make it at Strikers Academy, Rin. You're not a player. You're a hazard."
The coach's voice still echoes, but now it's background noise.Today, it's my turn to speak.
Behind me, the others begin to gather.
First is Sora — hair tied high, the air itself bending around him.He doesn't walk. He drifts.Like he's always a step ahead of the wind.
Daiki arrives like a storm on cleats.Broad. Loud. Sparks trailing from his heels.He pounds his fist into his palm and grins. "Let 'em try. I'll shock 'em all."
Yuki doesn't say a word.He doesn't have to.One step onto the field and the temperature drops five degrees.His eyes could freeze the sun.
Then there's Rika.Bright-eyed, barefoot like me, pink petals whirling in her wake.She waves. Winks. Spins like it's a game.But I've seen what she does with a ball —And petals aren't soft when they slice.
Five of us.Elemental freaks. Misfits. Weapons.
Together?We're not just a team.We're a warning.
And that's when I feel it —A pressure.Like gravity just doubled.
I turn.
And there he is.
Riku Akane.
He walks alone, like silence incarnate.Silver hair falling into sharp, pale eyes that see through everything.Every step he takes sparks static along the grass.The sky darkens. Storm clouds creep in like they've been waiting for him.
He stops across the field from me.Says nothing.
And I smile.
"If you can't keep up…" he finally says, his voice calm as frost,"...vanish."
My pulse surges.The fire in my cleats stirs to life, licking the soles of my feet.
"Good," I mutter."Then watch me rise."