Glass Coffin (an Inazuma Eleven f.f.)

Gates of Horn

So uh...I know I haven't made any A/Ns for this book yet, and I'm sorry that the first message you'll see from me would be on such a serious subject, but about a week ago, one of my friends passed away. Her kindness and undiscriminating compassion has been a fundamental support of who I am and where I am today, so I'd like to dedicate this chapter to her. Dear Caroline, I hope you are in a happier place, and may you forever rest in peace.

Despite the power that Inoue had seemed to hold when he walked onto the pitch, the game resumed very normally, dare I even say, disappointingly, as he made the kickoff to Gouenji who then started dribbling the ball down the field. Like me, the other team's players didn't seem to quite know what to make of the situation, for they didn't move in to stop him. Their faces reflected an image of unsureness as their eyes darted back and forth from Gouenji, Inoue, and their captain.

I turned my attention to Caribbean's captain. What was he going to do in this situation? Gouenji, who had been easily readable earlier, had now too became quite incomprehensible like his black haired teammate, leaving me no clues to speculate on what would happen next even if I did know the outcome of the match already.

A second passed. Two seconds.

The captain's face twitched. A miniscule drop of sweat, what should have been too fine for me to see from the distance between us, fell from his profile.

Another second.

I saw the tiny droplet hit the ground and heard a clear plink. Caribbean's captain's countenance hardened as he swiped his arm to the side aggressively, barking, "Defense! Mark thirteen! Mids, take the ball from ten just like we did in the first half and move down to make another point!"

They moved into position as per their captain's orders. When ganged up three on one, the ball was easily stolen, but Inoue swiftly cut in and passed to one of his own midfielders, who then kicked it right back as soon as the black haired boy broke free Caribbean's players as if he would afraid the ball was a bomb that would explode any second. Inoue continued down the field with no concern like a well connected circuit.

The defense, all four of them assembled in place having received prior warning from their captain, quickly surrounded him as he treaded into shooting zone. All five boys stopped, observing each other with challenging stares. Finally, the smallest of the four defenders wavered for a split second as Inoue's red eyes flickered over him. Locking eyes with the boy in the way a predator would look at its prey right before it pounced, Inoue charged towards him. At this I tried to close my eyes, but found myself unable to do so in the face of Inoue's paralyzing aura.

The two bulky defenders next to him moved closer into the circle to cover up for the weak spot in their defense. But rather than charging through the defense as I thought he would do, he feinted and dipped to the side which was now left free from when the defenders shifted closer together, breaking out of the defenders' trap in one easy step and leaving himself free to shoot at the goal.

"Sto-" Caribbean's captain didn't have enough time to finish his phrase before the ball shot across the field at unbelievable speed. A large gust of air and a torrent of black feathers exploded from said shoot, and I held my arms up to shield myself.

In the blink of an eye, the ball was behind Sugimori.

Not because he had been unable to stop the ball, but that he was not given enough time to react, I noted.

Interesting.

Caribbean's players quickly shook off the shock of the point and tried to counterattack, only for the ball to be taken back once again by Inoue. This time, his shoot held much less power and swerved too high to make an accurate goal. A misstep? Like me, the crowd seemed to let go of the tense breath they had been holding earlier. Inoue Shizuro no longer seemed like the demon he had been presented as, but rather just another player.