The Breaking Point

Chapter 21

Shawn kicked the ball to the forward beside him but the moment, Byron's shoe hit it's edge, he immediately took it back and kicked it ahead, before quickly taking off to catch up with it. The blond striker stared, confused, but simply chased after him. The rest of the midfield took off as well and within moments, Kevin and Xavier were neck to neck with the forwards, Jordan and Darren only a little bit behind.

"Take the ball," ordered Mac Ronejo, and two of his midfielders immediately rushed to corner Shawn.

"Pass it," Kevin yelled, but Shawn simply ignored him.

The opposing midfielder's attack snatched the ball right out of the striker's feet.

"I told you to pass it," Kevin growled before turning back to chase the midfielders. Shawn huffed and ran back, easily passing Kevin. The pink haired striker sped up and smashed his shoulder onto Shawn's.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting you out of the way because you're holding me back."

"At least I'm useful."

"You just lost the ball."

The friction between their shoulders slowed their pace.

Mark raised an eyebrow. "What on Earth is going on with those two?"

Thor shook his head in disapproval. "Those fools. I'll show them what it means to play."

He ran off towards the opposing players, where Darren, Jordan, Xavier, and Byron were all trying to find an opening.

"Thor, wait! They're coming for us. I need you here," but Mark's words were ignored.

Scotty gave a highly annoyed 'tsch'. He too, jogged forward. "Stop tryna play the hero, Thor. Half this is your fault."

Before Mark could speak, Jack was off the defense line. At least he was a little polite. "Don't worry, captain. I'll get the ball."

Mark steadied his hands and pushed his left foot back. He was all alone now, with no backup whatsoever. If the rest of his team couldn't stop their opponent's ball, he had to.

And that was exactly what happened. Somehow, those two midfielders managed to pass all nine of Mark's players, while they cornered and tackled and stole the ball from each other.

Suddenly, the ball was right at Mac Ronejo's feet. He nodded at the midfielder who passed him the ball and turned to Mark. "Your team's a load of garbage. Look at them. They can't even take the ball. You guys are playing worse than at our last match. You don't even have your uniform on and you look terrible."

Mark ignored him. It was no use getting worked up over a couple insults. "Just shoot, already."

"Ooh, someone's excited to lose."

Mark grits his teeth in reply. He was more than sick and tired of Garshield and his team. He and his team members had risked themselves just so The Kingdom could play the way they wanted, but apparently the Brazilian team's loss against Inazuma Japan the previous year made them regret ditching their former Coach- and they were dishonest enough to contact him and beg to return under his cruel command. As if that wasn't bad enough Garshield had the gut to kidnap Mark's friends and use them as bait just so he could rematch Inazuma Japan.

Mark wondered what other illegal acts the man was responsible for. Simply because of his money, Garshield thought he could get away with anything. Was that how he had run away from jail? By paying the police? Did he really expect the world to obey his every command all because he was a very rich business owner? For most people that was true, and at least Garshield had figured out that Mark and his team weren't wired like 'most people' and didn't jump at the chance of a couple million dollars.