40. The Fall

Y/N quelled the excitement in his stomach. He hadn't won yet. There was still one goal.

And on the other side of the field, it was clear his opponents were done playing around.

Luna's face was darkened with a hint of anger, even as he kept up a grin through gritted teeth. He scooped up the ball with barely concealed frustration, staring at the floor. His eyes seethed with poison.

Blake exhaled slowly, flexing his shoulders as he straightened his back. The look he sent Y/N was full of spite. Next to him, Silva slammed a fist into his palm. He'd been quite quiet since the game had started, not bothering to talk to Y/N.

Cavazos didn't look too bothered. He gave Y/N an interested, curious look, pursing his lips. And of course, Loki wasn't angry. He was holding back a smile, looking across at Y/N with admiration in his eyes. But Y/N noticed with a twinge of unease how relaxed he looked. He wasn't even out of breath, while Y/N's entire body was aching and he could barely talk.

Blake started with the ball. He placed it down in the centre of the field. "Y/N L/N." He said, in a heavy British accent, meeting Y/N's eyes. "That's your name, right?"

"Yep." Y/N answered in English, walking towards him. He paused a few metres away, the two of them facing off against each other. He ignored how tired his entire body was, how achy his muscles were, and how his eyes seemed to droop without him realising. Just one more goal.

"You're interesting." Blake calmly said. "I didn't expect there to be any actual talent here. The Japanese aren't known for their football."

Y/N frowned, still talking in English. "Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"A message."

Blake rested one foot on the ball. His eyes glowed with barely suppressed fury, and his muscles tensed. His entire demeanour shifted - where he was just frustrated before, he was now determined. "Don't get too cocky, kiddo. The match starts for real now."

He dashed forwards with stunning speed. Before the whistle could even blow to signal the kickoff, Y/N went to meet him. Their strides tore up the distance between them.

The pace was clearly different from before. Y/N thought he was fast before, but Blake had kicked it up a notch, moving insanely fast for such a big guy. The ball close to his feet at all times, he ran forwards. He stared Y/N down with steely determination, breathing heavily. The unease in Y/N's gut grew.

When Y/N got close, Blake's arm shot out. Y/N prepared to duck it or dodge it like before, but it was much, much faster, nailing him right in the shoulder. He choked with surprise, not expecting the defence. Blake held him far away, pushing him to the side as he sped past without another look. What?!

Y/N spun away. He shoved Blake away from him. He caught up easily enough, spinning around to get in front of Blake. As soon as he went for a second attack, though, Blake passed it. His face could've been set in stone with how little emotion he showed.

The ball flew far to the side of the field, where Silva faced off against Bachira. The Brazilian tank leapt up high into the air, huge muscles flexing as his head swung forwards. The header sent the ball slamming to the ground. It bounced and flew way past where Bachira had expected it to go.

Silva was on it in a split second, moving differently to before. Better. Faster. He barged past Bachira like he was a stick, his sheer size and mass completely nullifying Bachira's skill. He's turned it up too?

When it was clear Silva was going to break through, Y/N sped across. His chest was beginning to hurt from the all out sprinting, but he kept up the pace. His teammates moved to fill the gap he'd left, but it didn't really matter what they did. They didn't matter.

It was Y/N against the World Five.

Silva noticed him coming before Y/N was even close. He grinned gleefully, laughing as he stopped. Y/N dove for the ball. But somehow, he'd passed. Using the back of his heel, he'd sent it back down the field. Y/N hadn't even noticed Loki running behind, perfectly jumping to receive the ball. The French Prodigy burst into action.

Y/N was already running back, but somehow, Loki was faster than ever before. His eyes narrowed with concentration as he somehow moved quicker, top speed outshining Y/N's by far as he speared through the defence. Y/N barely could get in his path, but Loki brushed past him with even faster speed.

He slammed the ball into the top corner of the net without hesitation. The whistle blew, signalling the score. 4-3, Team Red.

Y/N placed both hands on the back of his head, leaning back to look at the ceiling as he tried to draw in more breath. "Shit..."

And when they restarted, it went the exact same way.

Rin began with the ball. His face was set with determination, face dripping with sweat as he pressed forwards. Y/N drew on his left side, and, after Rin looked ahead, he passed to Y/N.

Scooping up the ball, he pushed forwards. His entire team formed up behind him. Before he could even find space, both Blake and Silva were pressing him. They were still moving better than before. Were they just holding back...?

He couldn't go back. He couldn't pass through - right on the other side, in between Blake and Silva, Luna had put himself in the perfect place to stop him. By using Silva and Blake to prevent Y/N from moving much, he had found a way to narrow Y/N's options to only a few. All three of them were silent, moving together as one unit to isolate Y/N.

Loki came in. He dashed between his own teammates with terrifying speed, forcing Y/N backwards with a series of sharp lunges. Y/N spun, putting his back to Loki to keep him off the ball as he shoved the ball out in front of him. Their bodies collided roughly, and he pushed Julian back for a second of respite. He had to get the ball out.

He passed the ball to Isagi.

Before it could reach him, though, a shadow surged from the enemy side. Cavazos materialised out of thin air. Y/N froze. How...? He hadn't seen the small man at all. Did he hide behind Silva? Don't tell me...

He doubled back, chest heaving and sweat absolutely drenching his shirt. He had to stop the ball. The entire time, he was cursing himself. He used Silva as cover to stop me from seeing him, then appeared to steal the ball... What a high level tactic. I should've expected it, I should've realised...

I should've run faster... I should've realised their plan... I should've used my eyes better... Y/N's eyes widened with frustration, both at himself at the other team.

Cavazos didn't miss a beat. He danced around Isagi and Aryu, a fast-paced, needle-like dribbling style that perfectly threaded its way between them. It wasn't like Blake, who used his physique, nor like Loki and his speed. He was like a bullet, zipping through them in fast, straight lines. Y/N's team was instantly thrown into disarray, and even as he ran back, Cavazos just grinned.

When Y/N neared, he passed the ball away.

Y/N literally snarled with frustration as once again, the ball was sent far away from him. It went back to Luna, who received it with a wide, teasing grin. He easily tore through Rin and Bachira, using the same counter-dribble that Y/N had used before. One shoulder dipped, and with that, he span around the last of Y/N's team.

The man fired it home, into the back of the goal.

The whistle blew. "4-4."

Within the space of a few minutes, their goal lead had been completely ruined. Y/N gasped for air, panting hard as he tried to recover. Why's the room spinning...? Hey, do you see that?

He blinked back a rush of nausea, his legs screaming with pain. Every sprint took more and more from him. Why didn't I train harder? Why did I let myself get this unfit? Why didn't I push myself on harder challenges?

Y/N was too busy trying to stop the world from going blurry to notice Rin starting the game again. When he heard the whistle that signalled the game start, he whipped his head around, eyes widening with panic.

And he sprinted again. Even though his entire body was screaming at him.

Forwards, forwards, forwards... as Rin instantly managed to lose the ball with a poorly timed pass, Y/N was there to fix his mistake. He swooped in at lightning speed, stealing the ball with zero loss in speed.

As soon as he picked it up, the entire World Five rounded on him. Loki was instantly pressuring him, running level with him as they grappled for the ball. He was breathing heavily, but still in a much better position than Y/N as he kept pace.

Y/N was forced to slow down as Loki cut in front. He twirled around Silva, threading the ball between the large man's legs, and lifted it into the air. The Brazilian huffed with surprise. Y/N's entire body was focused on the ball. He balanced it on the top of his shoe. As Loki slowed him down, circling in front of him, Y/N sped up more.

With a chop just like Barou had done before, Y/N swapped the ball to his other foot. He surged forwards, and with a ninja-like burst of movement forwards, slipped past Loki. Two down. Just one more goal.

Loki had bought the World Five enough time to get back. Y/N's path was once again blocked by Luna, whose sadistic grin had once again returned to his face.

When Luna came for him, he flicked it out. Then back in, keeping the ball midair the entire time in a fancy air elastico. Luna predicted it, body moving to block it, but somehow, Y/N moved even more. He flicked the ball, rolling it over Luna's shoulder, and dashed to the side. His legs nearly gave way as he pushed himself one last time. The goal was so close, yet so far. Not even a hundred metres. Just one more goal.

His eyes narrowed in on the goal. Nearly a free shot. If only he could just shake the defence off-

He ran into a wall.

Not a literal wall, but rather, Blake. Y/N clipped the man's side, the combination of his speed and Blake's massive, boulder-like frame enough to send him completely off balance. His entire vision shook, a painful shock running through his entire body.

He tripped, rolled, and hit the ground hard.

"Go, Loki!" Came Blake's voice. A half-second later, Loki was speeding down the field, right for the goal.

Y/N scrambled to his feet. He pressed his fingers into the floor, shoving himself upwards as he chased. Just one more goal. His breathing was harder than ever. Each beat of his heart sent painful waves through his head. Every step hurt.

He didn't get there in time.

Loki fired the ball before Y/N could stop him, sliding on the ground in a vain attempt to get closer. He was still a good few metres away.

The ball hit the back of the net.

The whistle blew.

"5-4, Team White. The World Five win the game."

In the end, it was over so quickly.