3.19. Crack In The Armour (Part 2)

Needless to say, Isagi was very, very confused.

He knew something was up with Y/N. The boy hadn't been nearly as social as he was before, choosing instead to focus on training more than nearly everyone else, and locking himself away in his room to study soccer guides.

And on the pitch, he'd changed. It was unlikely that Y/N was growing weaker, so it was probably the fact that Isagi was getting stronger, but Y/N wasn't the seemingly insurmountable wall he was before. Before, it felt like he was untouchable, both in speed and strategy. But now? Isagi wasn't anywhere near as fast as him, but he was predictable. He could be beaten.

Yet, he hadn't shown anything outright. So when he spoke to Isagi in that low, threatening voice, it was a shock.

He didn't reply, just watching as Y/N stalked off. What's up with him...?

Y/N was his friend, yeah. Isagi was slightly concerned, because obviously it wasn't right for him to be so annoyed. But at the same time... Isagi couldn't help but feel a sick sense of satisfaction, of accomplishment.

Because he was making Y/N frustrated. Throughout the entirety of Bluelock, Y/N in games had been nothing but untouchable. He'd laughed everything off, joked around as everyone tried their hardest to catch up. And now? Isagi had grown enough to overcome him. He could see the cracks in Y/N's armour slowly widening.

It was a sign of progress. In this match, he would overcome both Kaiser and Y/N. And after that...? Rin. Then, he would be well on the way to challenging the best in the world.

He shook himself off, focusing on the game. Win this first.

Everyone's thinking of how they can make an impact now. One to one, the next goal determines who'll hold the advantage. And I've already got one up on Kaiser...

Before the game, Kaiser had challenged him, in a game of who could get more goals. It would solidify Isagi's place in the team, or enforce Kaiser's virtual rule over everyone else. Isagi held one goal. Right now, Kaiser had none.

Grim took the free kick. Everyone spread out across the field, readying themselves. But while there were maybe six players of Bastard Munchen on the offence, everyone knew who the ball was going to. Either Kaiser, or Ness.

Grim chose the latter. The ball went straight for the midfielder. He dashed forwards, barely managing to pull ahead of a nearby Ubers player to receive. And he passes to Kaiser, right?

He didn't. Not by choice, but because at that moment, Kunigami came flying past with all the power of a train. He barrelled straight up the field, ignoring every single one of his teammates as he made a run for the goal.

Isagi knew what to do. Breathing getting heavier, he chased Kunigami up the field.

He's gonna try send it in himself... but there's three defenders in his way! That's impossible! So... when he gets held up, I can press and steal the ball. The thing is, Niko sees it too. Niko has metavision too...

As Kunigami slowed, Isagi sped up. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Niko, and watched Raichi running up behind him. I need to find a place where Kunigami doesn't have the ball... and where Raichi goes for it to block Niko.

To his luck, it happened pretty much instantly. Kunigami chopped the ball to one side, kicking it forwards to try and get past a defender. Only, it was a little too far forwards. Niko rushed in, all of his attention on the ball and Isagi. Behind him, Raichi also rushed forwards.

The blond boy barged Niko aside, and that was when Isagi struck. In the split second where neither of them were focused enough on the ball, he lunged, snagging it for himself and racing up the field.

Two defenders left... I can see it.

Wait, no. Isagi glanced around the field. Y/N wasn't up in Bastard Munchen's half. He wasn't in defence either, nor was he on the wing. Footsteps pounded on the grass behind him. Isagi's body tensed.

"Here, pass!" From one side, he heard Kurona's voice. Perfect timing. He'd tracked Kurona, near him on the flank pretty much the entire time. And now, he was going to be incredibly useful.

Isagi sent the ball to him, just in time as Y/N whistled past. He threw himself forwards in a reckless tackle, halting barely in time to avoid a foul as the ball bounced to Kurona. Both defenders rushed the shark boy, but he was faster than them both. He lifted the ball up and over both of them, lobbing it towards Isagi.

But as Isagi trapped the ball, Aiku appeared from the right.

It was a shock. Because nobody else should've known what Isagi wanted to do.

Niko, he'd got past. Y/N, he'd outplayed. Both of them likely had metavision. But did Aiku as well?

Shit... I still have my left foot, though. Isagi swapped the ball. In that instant, Aiku's eyes narrowed. He threw himself forwards at max speed, getting as close to Isagi as possible.

I can't...! Isagi frantically thought. My left foot isn't as strong as my right... so I need a good, easy shot to make it work. Aiku knows that?! So he's pressing me?!

I just have to shoot...

"Isagi!"

Whipping his head to one side, Isagi spotted Yukimiya. The other boy was sprinting down the flank. "I'm wide open!" He yelled, stretching one of his hands way up into the air.

What a godsend...! How did he get there so fast?! Isagi grinned. I can still shoot... but if I miss, we're gonna be railed by the counter-attack. He met Aiku's eyes. The man didn't have an ounce of confidence missing. If Isagi shot, he would block it. So... passing is the more rational option.

He passed.

Before the ball could reach Yukimiya, Y/N appeared.

His eyes were wild, chest heaving as he shoved himself into the path of the ball. Isagi could only watch with widened eyes as the small boy smiled slightly. We're gonna get countered anyway...?

Isagi's mind was already trying to think ahead. He'll try and solo run... or maybe he'll play off his offensive teammates. Not going to link up with Barou though. If Kurona and I press one of his teammates, we can cut him off without ever having to fight him...?

He trailed off, not needing to think more. Because none of that was going to happen.

Kaiser was there.

Isagi's breath hitched in his throat. What...?! Kaiser?! He got me? He outread me, my entire thought process? No, not just me. He outread literally every single person on the field, to get to that spot!

Fighting his way past Lorenzo, Kaiser sped up to get the first tap on the ball. Lorenzo attempted to tackle him low. Both players rushed for the goal.

Everyone was moving. Yukimiya and Y/N both flat out ran for the goal. Kaiser and Lorenzo were neck and neck, Kaiser just barely getting another touch on the ball. Isagi gritted his teeth, forcing himself to move as Aiku and Aryu also ran for the goal.

Kaiser's laugh was like a knife, cutting into his ears.

"Took your eyes off me for a second, Lorenzo?" He managed to push himself just a metre in front of the zombie, a determined glare in his eyes as he readied to shoot. "I've been waiting for this."

Y/N was there, though. Easily outpacing Yukimiya, he slid forwards, trying to block Kaiser. Kaiser didn't shoot. He just jumped over the slide, giving Y/N an arrogant, cold look.

But in that moment, Ubers found their footing. Aiku leapt in front of the goal, throwing his leg out to block as much space as possible. Aryu slammed into Kaiser from behind, tripping the man up and making him sort of topple over backwards.

But...

None of it mattered.

"He's got nowhere to shoot!"

"Prevented shot!"

"Nice work!"

"W-wait... that's a foul! Penalty...!"

Kaiser's eyes narrowed. Even as he was falling, even as he had his back to the goal, even as three defenders were surrounding him, he decided to shoot.

It was madness. But as Isagi knew, madness was what Kaiser did best.

"Eat shit. Losers."

He flipped, his foot somehow connecting with the ball.

Lightning speed. That's what it was. Or even more than that, the ball akin to a laser as it flashed past the defenders at speeds nobody else in the world could match. A casual player wouldn't have even reacted to the shot in time.

It bounced right through Aiku's legs, ricocheting off the floor.

The goalkeeper leapt across, showing his own impressive speed. But it was nothing in the face of Kaiser.

The ball slammed into the goal. And everyone stared.

Because everyone's weapons. Y/N's speed, Isagi and Niko's vision, Aiku's defence, Aryu's height, Lorenzo's defence, hell, even Yukimiya's own speed. Kaiser had just outshone every single one of them, destroyed them to score one of the most outrageous goals the world had ever seen.

Isagi set his jaw.

You damn prodigy...

🥕🥕🥕

"Goal...!"

"In this game filled with counters, Michael Kaiser seizes an advantage for Bastard Munchen, with a stunning bicycle kick!"

"This is Germany's genius! Let's hear it for Michael Kaiser!"

The noise from Bastard Munchen's substitutes filled the room. Y/N slumped, not immediately picking himself up from the floor. He lay there for a good few seconds after his failed slide tackle, eyes closed as his chest heaved.

Fuck.

Footsteps rushed by him. Ness's exuberant voice rang out a few moments later, yelling to a Kaiser Y/N assumed hadn't moved from his place by the goal. "Holy...! Kaiser! That was amazing!"

"Y-you saw everything! You saw through Isagi's plan, you predicted the defence, you did everything correct, and finished off with the Kaiser Impact!" His voice got louder. "See that, guys?! This is Kaiser's true power!"

"Hey, Ness."

The voice was quiet, not nearly as joyful as Ness's. Kaiser's voice came from close to Y/N.

"Yes? What?"

"Shut the fuck up." Y/N sighed, just listening to them as he lay there. There was a surprised intake of breath, before Kaiser continued. "That goal... that you seem to love so much, was nothing but a shitty closer. I had to use a ratty, idiotic tactic to take it."

"B-but... it was an amazing goal...?"

"What are you, stupid?" Kaiser's voice hardened. "That entire play started with Isagi. He got through the defence himself. I just stole the last pieces, like some goddamn hyena. I'm not blind. That goal was nearly all his, and I just stole the ending."

He sighed. "I can't forgive myself for scoring that. But, we bet on who scores the most goals. It's frustrating... but right now, we're tied, one apiece."

They both have one goal. Y/N thought, still not opening his eyes. Distantly, he heard the sounds of substitutes being made, of the casters' yells as they reacted to the people coming onto the pitch. What do I have? Nothing.

I've been completely useless this game. I got used as bait by my team. I haven't even come close to scoring. I keep getting outplayed by Isagi. And Kaiser didn't even notice me. I tried to slide tackle, and he just leapt over. Like I wasn't even worth playing against...

He felt a hand on his forehead.

What?

Slowly, Y/N cracked his eyes open. He squinted into the bright lights lining the ceiling, raising his own hand to move the touch off his forehead. Long fingers...? Who has those?

When his vision cleared, though, his face erupted in red. He threw the hand to the side, sighing tiredly at Kaiser's face hovering above him. The man was crouched next to his prone body, a slightly amused, slightly serious expression on his face. "Oh good."

"Good, what?" Y/N waved him away, sitting up.

"You're not dead."

"Dumbass." Y/N rubbed at his eyes. "I just didn't wanna get up."

Kaiser huffed. It could've been a laugh. "We're on a soccer field. After the substitutions go through, we're gonna play."

"So get back to your own half." Y/N retorted.

Kaiser raised his eyes skyward. "You're welcome by the way, for being the only fucking person on this field that checked up on you."

"Do I look like I need checking up on?" Y/N replied dryly.

Kaiser considered that. In that moment, when everyone around them was busy sorting out injuries and planning strategies, he looked a lot less confrontational than normal. In a serious voice, devoid of any of the usual anger or taunting, he spoke. "Yes. Yes, you do."

A mop of blond hair came into Y/N's vision. Snuffy's face appeared between him and Kaiser, grinning. "Hi. What are you talking about?"

And just like that, Kaiser's expression returned to normal. Arrogant, teasing, and amused. He shook his head, chuckling lowly under his breath. "Nothing relevant to you, old man." At Snuffy's confused look, Kaiser's grin widened. "Y/N tried a shitty, unplanned slide tackle on me. I was just telling him how stupidly predictable it is."

"Ah, I see!" Snuffy nodded enthusiastically.

Y/N glared up at him. He'd seemed nice enough before. But he was also the man that had designed all these strategies. It was obvious Y/N wasn't part of every single tactic Snuffy had designed, and that just fed the distrust he felt towards him. How many more times would Y/N be tossed out as bait? How many more goals would be snatched away from him?

Snuffy didn't seem to notice. Slapping a hand on Y/N's shoulder, he hauled the small boy to his feet. As Kaiser headed back to his own half, trailed by Ness, Snuffy grinned at Y/N. "Noa and I have subbed on. Remember what to do when I'm on the pitch?"

Y/N hesitated. Yeah... it was in the book. But did he really want to play along with Snuffy's game?

He sighed. "I remember."

"Good!"

Ubers fanned out across the pitch. Y/N took his place on the left wing. Barou stayed in the centre. Behind him, Niko, Lorenzo, and Snuffy formed a sort of column. They'd changed formation, into a more aggressive 4-5-1 setup.

The game restarted.

Immediately, Ubers rushed forwards. Lorenzo started by passing to Niko, and with that, the entirety of the team was moving forwards. In training, Snuffy had called this his berserker formation.

It's an incredibly aggressive system, to be used when I'm in play. With me, we shouldn't lose the ball, so there is no need for many defenders. Instead, we can commit many people forward. The main attack will consist of Lorenzo, Niko, and I in the centre, with Y/N on the left to support. Barou should play towards the top of the field, slightly leaning towards the left side.

They ghosted right past the first few Bastard Munchen players. The passing was incredibly on point, the ball not stopping at all as it went from player to player. Niko received it, tapping it to the side without missing a step. Lorenzo took hold of it, flopping and staggering his way past Raichi before passing it on again.

Y/N watched his teammates, holding himself at their level as they all worked up the field. As Kunigami headed for Lorenzo, the zombie passed to one of the other midfielders. The man bounced it along to Y/N, and he scooped it up, searching for a teammate.

He kept hold of it long enough to draw Bastard Munchen's attention, then passed it back into the centre.

Then he froze.

When did I get relegated to a supporting role...?

He glanced around the field, unease twisting in his stomach. He was just part of their passing. They used his speed to create more space, threatening a huge area on the left side of the field that defenders had to watch.

But I'm not the striker. He realised. Slight panic rose in his chest. Barou is. I'm just a winger, on the side. But Barou is the one in front of the goal.

Y/N's eyes widened. They're not gonna give it to me.

But there wasn't anything he could do. Y/N couldn't protest, couldn't fight. Snuffy had said that Barou and him would get equal chances at stealing the goal. But even as Y/N realised that wasn't the case, he was lost on how to fight it.

He was powerless against Ubers' system.