A family thing

Chapter 60 Blooming flowers

The game restarted again. Yoichi passed the ball to Rin who kicked it back to him right afterwards. Everything came in sight. Yoichi's eyes overviewed the field like laser scanners from a measuring machine. All possibilities were shown to him. He could see them as clear as he could see the kois from the clear water of an old temple.
"D4, D5, C4, E6...", Yoichi murmered as he dodged Shidou's pressing with a simple spin around. "Knight C3, Knight F6..."
Hayate rushed for him.
"No, you're actually going Pawn takes C4...", he said and swiftly changed into quick scissors. "Then I'm going Bishop F4."
As the words left his mouths he pushed the ball to the left.
'No that's a feint.', Hayate thought and observed the motions closely without moving with it. Yoichi then went for the right as he seemed to have planned. The white haired followed up and spreaded his legs. Yoichi took aim and kicked a long pass to Rin. Sendou reacted to that and went towards him for ball pressing. Rin tabbed it back for Yoichi who then passed it to the side for Hiori.
"... E3...", he muttered as if he was absorbed in the queens gambit he laid out inside his head. Hiori looked over the situation. Both of the most goal hungry players on his team were storming forwards. Faster than Usain Bolt.
"Let's go strikers.", he told himself.

'They're on the move!!!', Hayate thought as he looked at the situation. 'Both of them at once. Gotta catch the more dangerous one.'
He looked at them more carefully. Rin was being marked by Sendou.
'Number 11 is the most open!!!', he concluded and ran over to the raven haired. In that moment, Hiori decided to cross it to Yoichi. Hayate was still focused on Yoichi.
'He noticed me too late!!!', he told himself. 'I'll intercept...'
"Fool.", his raven haired target whispered and didn't even turn around. "G3, H6, Bishop G2, Bishop D6, Castling."
Barou stormed into the scene and stole the ball away from both of them.
"What the hell?", Hayate muttered in surprise seeing the newly subbed in winger. 'This guy beat me to the punch to steal the ball from his own teammate? And that other guy didn't seem to care either. How could he forsaw something like that?'
"Delicious.", he muttered. Foam formed on the both ends of his mouth as if he was poisoned. All tear marks showed themselves inside his face making him look like he has aged 40 years.
"Queen A4 check. Switching to the Catalanian.", Yoichi spoke and continued storming forwards.

"Barou Shouei's style... doesn't apply to the rules of rationality.", Ego spoke as he watched from the sidelines. "The more knowledgeable about football you are, the more likely you are to fall for it."

Hayate immediately tackled Barou who tried to force himself through the center.
'Good, locked down his path.', he thought and stretched out his leg to intercept the ball, that might go there. But before he could make any contact, Barou chopped the ball back into the other direction.
'A chop dribble?', Hayate thought in surprise. 'And he has the skill to back it up too?'
"Go for it, show me, why you were supposed to be the king.", Yoichi taunted and smiled like a creepy maniac. "Bring me the chaos I longed for."

"And that is exactly why I put him on.", Ego said. "Logic and tactics are irrelevant to him. These last 30 minutes can't even be predicted by me. Perhaps... Shidou was the one Sae chose to put on a leash whilst Barou was the one, Yoichi wanted to let go of his leash."

Barou span around Hayate and broke through the first layer of the U20 defense. A clear vision of the goal formed itself in front of him. Until Darai broke it.
"What a bizarre joker you are.", he commented. Barou looked for a short second at his teammate. Yoichi rushed in with the creepiest smile there was on earth, seemingly to be on a climax.
'He glanced at the 'inside of the penalty area...', Darai noticed. 'A pass? No, he's defenitely not the the type to pass it. But there's no way he can take a shot at this angle...'
"Barou!!!", Yoichi shouted. His voice disgusted Barou to the very least. A voice as dirty as the room he had to live in during the first selection.
'Will he try to dodge with a one-two, or use him as bait to get inside.', Darai thought. 'Either way he's not going outside so...'
The impossible vision inside Darai suddenly became reality and ripped him out of his train of thoughts when Barou slid the ball to his right with only one aim: the outside.
"HUH!?!", confusion was written all over Darai's face. 'Outside? He can't shoot it if he goes that way. Is he planning to pass after all?!'
"Barou~ I'm here~", Yoichi sing songed in an even more disgusting tone.
'Fuck, number 11 is free...', Darai thought and remembered the scoring ability of the opposing offensive midfielder. 'They'll be all set up, if he makes a pass right now...'
He rushed over to lock down the pass. Barou was already in a passing motion, but when Darai fully arrived he chopped the ball back again, confusing Darai even more, 'Another chop dribble?'
"Nonsense!", Darai shouted. 'I can't make a sense out of this guy...'
"Hewwooooo~, Barou~", Yoichi sing songed. His teammate's unusual ease provoked him even more.
"Even if the sky falls down...", Barou grunted in anger. "I'm never gonna pass to you, Kageyama. I'm gonna devour you along with this match!!!!"
With that he swung his leg and crushed his foot into the ball, kicking it with full span. A promised goal. If it weren't for that sidebar that deflected the ball, saving the U20 from the equalizer.
"Tsk.", Barou cursed.
"Dumbass king. This is what you get.", Nagi commented and rushed for the lose ball.
"So... both friend and foe...", Hayate murmered. "... are in all disarray..."
'So the king isn't going to help me check mate them at all...', Yoichi thought and shouted, "SECOND BALL!!!"
Yukimiya got a hold of it, before Neru.
'The enemy formation has crumbled.', he concluded the currrent situation. 'Barou's existence has simply rewritten the field entirely. Set up the optimal goal.'
He trapped the ball under his foot. Neru stood before him.
"Just try to avoid me, Yukkey-Kun.", he spoke.
'So be it.', Yukimiya declared. Lines made out of light appeared in front of him. A drawn out path just like the ones in video games.
'There it is.'
Yukimiya stepped forward and leaned into the right, purposely indicating his direction. Neru went to block that path, but instead of following it, he went for the opposite direction and dribbled past Neru.
'I can't shoot yet.', he told himself. 'Take it up a notch. It's exactly because Barou-Kun created this chaos that I can run this route!!'
Yukimiya then went on and started to dribble not only against his opponents, but his teammates too, as if he was dodging obstacles. Nagi fist came into sight. Zero step, followed by a quick zip to his right and moving past him. Then running in slalom pattern past Hayate, who was locked on Nagi, a danger, he could never ignore. Neru stuck onto him. But because of his strange dribbling patter he was starting to recognize, he couldn't follow up easily and was still too far away from him. All the players he has run around now served as an obstacle, an artificial wall seperating him from his marker.
'I see it, the goal will be open.', he thought. His aim was now focused on the right top corner.
"Just try and shoot, google man!!!", Niou shouted and locked it down.
'He's fast...?! I can't avoid his pressure...', he muttered inside of his head. 'Fine... then I'll shoot it there instead...'
He swung his leg and shot it to the other corner with a huge spin on it, making it dodging Neru's foot narrowly. But not the U20 captain.
"Goal in time.", Yukimiya spoke, not noticing that he was about to jinx it. Aiku jumped up and used the massive body of his to clear the ball away.
"AIKU!!!??", Neru screamed in relief.