Chapter 60: Hype Train

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*SWISH*

Rin's shot left his right foot and cleaved through the goal from the other side of the pitch.

His mind was cluttered with conflicting images of two individuals. The first was his brother, nutmegging and leaving him for dead in the final play of the U-20 game. And the second was Ayanokouji, chasing his shadow with every goal he scored... creeping ever further from Rin's grasp with every goal he scored. The shadow they cast over him suffocated his mind, as he fell to the ground, exhausted. He wiped his neck covered in sweat. His knees were wobbly and about to break under his weight.

And yet, he persevered and managed to grab his water bottle to drink it all down.

He breathed heavily as he lay spread-eagled on the grass.

Despite Loki's mandatory training sessions extending till 8 pm, Rin stubbornly trucked on for four more hours, focused on evolving his lethal trevalla.

Kiyotaka: Are you done? I could use the field if you don't mind.

Rin's eyes widened as he saw Kiyotaka looking at him from above. He wore a tank top, and his muscular physique was outlined and well-defined due to his sweat.

Rin: You... fuck off.

He got up from the field and gripped his bottle tight.

Kiyotaka: I thought if I worked out in the weights room for a couple hours, you'd tire yourself out but to think you'd take this long... when will you realize your shot isn't improving at all?

Rin: Huh?

Kiyotaka: The curve and accuracy are already reaching their max potential given your physical parameters. You need more development on your quadriceps to reinforce the power required to pull off a shot with more effect.

A ball shot from the wall and towards Kiyotaka's feet.

*TAP*

*TURN*

After gracefully controlling the ball and turning around, he extended his leg out and fired off a similar shot to Rin's trivela.

It soared up into the air and down on the opposite side of the goal dozens of yards away.

Kiyotaka: After my defeat, I started to shave off time from the field and spent it working on my physical stats. That shot just now reached the target 0.9 seconds faster than yours did. I suggest working on your body 2/3 of the time and the other third should be spent on dribbling drills.

Rin: You're not a coach, so quit bossing me around loser. I don't need your help.

Kiyotaka: I'm not doing it for you.

In his free hand, which held a tablet, he pulled up the Bayern Munich lineup and circled a couple players' names.

Kiyotaka: Isagi, Kaiser, Ness, Raichi, and Kunigami. These players are going to hone in on the two of us. Forwards are apparently more gifted in defending than center-backs now, but this is the level of competition we're going into. They make Manchester City's emphasis on physicality look amateur. At any point in time, we can be double or even triple teamed by any of these players. So, I need you at your best so we can act as each other's decoy.

Rin sighed.

Rin: And what about Isagi's new partner in crime?

Kiyotaka: He's not our problem. We'll leave that-

*DOOR OPENS*

Kiyotaka: ...to him.

Pointing at the person walking in, Kiyotaka eyed Charles crashing through with his face as red as a tomato and legs trembling like a newborn deer.

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