17. Betrayal (Part 1)

When the game started again, it went trivially easy for Team Z.

It was surprising, to be honest. Y/N stood back, watching intently as the enemy team gave out free chances to score like candy. Their passing was slow and basically invited Team Z to steal, their dribbling was awkward, and the two brothers that had tore through Team Z's defence at the start of the game were useless.

Kunigami stole the ball off one of the brothers, who was too busy seething to even think about passing. He sent it along to Bachira. After a long pass, it was for a second time Kuon that had scored.

He cheered loudly, and as Team Z celebrated for a second time this game, Y/N frowned deeply. They're letting us win. These mistakes are things I expect to see toddlers making... they're playing like they don't want to win.

Pursing his lips, he surveyed the field. Despite being 2-0 down in the first twenty minutes, Team W still didn't look like they cared. In fact, they seemed happy still, sneaking small smiles at each other when they thought Team Z wasn't looking.

And only a few minutes later, Team W gave away another chance to score.

The taller of the Wanima brothers grabbed Naruhaya's shoulder, brutally yanking him backwards and tossing him to the floor. He was fuming, and Y/N could imagine steam coming out of his ears as Naruhaya grinned teasingly up at him.

"That's a free kick!"

Bachira took the ball, as the rest of the team moved close to the box. It was a good distance away, but everyone knew just how good Bachira's passing was. They crowded around the goal, pushing against their Team W counterparts as everyone tried to get Bachira's attention.

Their marking is off... Y/N realised. They're avoiding Kuon...? All of Team Z's players were marked well, with a wall of Team W players pushing against them. But Kuon only had one boy behind him, and that player wasn't even paying much attention. He had a free shot on goal.

Bachira seemed to have noticed it too, because he launched the ball high in the air towards Kuon. The brown-haired boy leapt up, using his head to smash the ball directly into the back of the goal.

Everyone celebrated, and Y/N sighed.

Why are people so desperate? If I was that bad, I would just quit.

He knew what was happening. He knew that Kuon was a traitor, that he was somehow working with Team W. He knew that there was probably no way that Team Z could win this, unless he played properly, which he wouldn't.

And finally, he knew that Kuon was utter garbage. Y/N hated cheaters, and in a game like this, with everyone's careers on the line? Maybe I should ask Barou to beat him up or something...

Y/N was proved right just a few minutes after the third goal Kuon scored. He was sat all the way at the back of the pitch, when Kuon decided to stop moving the ball, raising a finger like he was giving a speech.

In that time, one of the Wanima brothers zipped in from the side, taking the ball from Kuon. He smiled creepily, and with that, Team W began an attack. They passed the ball out to the wing, quickly taking advantage of their new opportunity.

"Hey, you gave away the ball!" Raichi yelled, louder than all of Team Z. "Idiot!"

Team Z scrambled to defend. They fell back, running up the pitch as they tried to catch up to the two Wanima brothers. Like the start of the game, they seemed utterly unstoppable, running straight through all of Team Z as they faced each player two on one.

As Y/N lazily stood up, stretching tiredly over his head, Isagi went in for a slide tackle again. This time, though, they were ready for it, and the brother pulled the ball back just in time so Isagi slid past him.

Y/N and Chigiri were the last two defenders as the two brothers quickly passed the rest of the team.

Do I let them through...? I guess we have a 3-0 lead, it couldn't hurt. Even if we are going to play the rest of the game 12 against 10, Team Z is good enough to last for 45 minutes, right?

He slowed down, barely making an effort to tackle, and pretty much allowing the ball to whiz past him. Chigiri actually tried, but the more he stared at the twins, the harder his breathing got, and his pink eyes grew an unfocused, panicked sheen.

Y/N sighed, going from a jog to a walk, and eventually to a stop as the two brothers scored. They made it look so easy, with the two of them taking turns passing back and forth before eventually slamming the ball into the back of the goal.

Team Z's faces fell immediately.

When they retrieved the ball, it was Kuon that started the kickoff. Y/N as usual, stood all the way back in defence, watching intently as Kuon spoke firmly to the rest of Team Z.

"We have a two lead goal. Let's stay focused, and close this out." He looked around, and even though three players were waiting close by for the kickoff, Kuon chose a player that was quite far.

"Here, Isagi!" He kicked the ball gently, with Y/N gritting his teeth as he tried to stop himself from running over there and beating the hell out of Kuon. He didn't care about the outcome of the game too much - he just didn't like Kuon cheating.

The ball was way underhit. Isagi's face contorted with surprise, and shock, and he made a good attempt to salvage the mistake. But before he could, the shorter Wanima brother swooped in, dribbling at full speed down the middle of the pitch.

Team Z had no response. In less than a minute, the two brothers had linked a long pass all the way across the field. The taller brother was already in front of Team Z's goal. Like he'd expected that they would get possession.

Y/N didn't do anything. He just stood there idly as a second goal was scored.

"What the hell are you doing, Kuon!" Raichi stomped across the field, directly towards Kuon. "Did you lose your focus after that hat-trick?!"

Kunigami came in front of him. "Chill, Raichi!" He grabbed the blond boy, holding him back with his impressive physique as he tried to stop him from killing Kuon. Y/N just scowled - if Raichi didn't, he would himself. "No fighting!"

Turning to the two boys, and the rest of Team Z in addition, Kuon muttered under his breath. "Sorry... What am I doing in an important game like this?"

He dropped to his knees in an overly exaggerated, dramatic motion, pressing his forehead against the floor. "Sorry."

Everyone paused with surprise, and Kunigami offered Kuon a hand. "Get up. It's not like you did it on purpose." Y/N sighed under his breath.

If nobody else is going to realise, then I can't be bothered to tell them. The whole reason I'm holding back is so Team Z can evolve, get better, but if they can't, then they're useless trash. They have to do this themselves.

They restarted the game. This time, Kuon wasn't anywhere near the ball, but Team Z was still having huge difficulties. Y/N assumed they had planned out strategies, even though everything he saw himself was poorly coordinated and even more poorly executed.

They pressed Kunigami, preventing him from getting a powerful shot off. They crowded Bachira, making it difficult for him to even get a metre with his dribbling. And two players were waiting just out of Isagi's field of view, waiting for him to slip up.

Slip up, he did. Kunigami passed back, but before Isagi could receive it, a player from Team W stole it.

They forced the attack, and before any of Team Z could react, the ball was spiralling towards their goal. One of the Wanima brothers stood inside the box, ready to tap it in as a long pass went into the corner box.

Kuon was standing there. Y/N just sat off to the side, patiently watching as the brown-haired boy purposefully missed a header. Iemon let out a cry of rage, trying to stop the goal, but wasn't fast enough.

The field erupted in cheers from Team W, and sighs from Team Z. Nobody knew what to do - Team W seemed like a completely different team from before, outclassing them in absolutely everything.

Oh, that's interesting. Isagi had wandered over to Kuon, stood in front of the traitor with a blank stare. It was surprisingly scary, on a face that usually was blushing or smiling sweetly. Y/N strained to hear what he was saying.

"Are you betraying us?"

No shit! Y/N wanted to scream at the rest of them. If they didn't believe it, then Y/N was going to play properly. He didn't care what anybody thought, but it was so frustrating, watching a cheater get off scot-free.

With a sneer, both Wanima brothers appeared on either side of Kuon. Their grins were even wider than normal, showing their crooked teeth as they chuckled menacingly.

"Might as well come clean, Kuon." The shorte brother giggled manically, saying the name at the end in a sickly sweet, sing-song voice. "Your tactics, your weapons, your weaknesses... he gave everything to us."

Team Z's eyes simultaneously widened. Bachira and Kunigami just stood there with mute shock. Naruhaya took a step back, raising his hands defensively like it would do something. Gagamaru scratched his head with confusion.

"Remember, you went out last night during your team's strategy meeting?"

Both brothers each placed one hand on either of Kuon's shoulders, staring at the team with matching, crazed looks of glee. "This game is ours."

As Team Z finally realised how much shit they were in, and Raichi stomped forwards to grab Kuon by the shirt, Y/N let himself relax. The cheater was caught, and that's all that mattered. Even though it was likely Team Z would lose and go out... They knew about Kuon.

Kuon picked up the ball, a small, creepy smile turning up the corners of his lips. He walked backwards, amidst Team Z's barrage of questions and yells.

When he reached the centre of the pitch, Kuon raised a hand to brush the hair out of his eyes. "I will survive here alone."

Despite the circumstances, Y/N grinned widely. He may think that, but goddamn am I going to prove him wrong. If Team Z goes out, then that cheater is going with them.

Kuon passed the ball to one of the Wanima brothers.

And Y/N turned to the cameras in the corner of the room, spreading his palms with a half-glare on his face. "Gonna do something?" He muttered.