Captain Tsubasa: My Way

"It's on us, we didn't handle that properly. Don't beat yourself up." I said to Tsuji, helping him back to his feet before heading to the center circle for the kickoff.

We restarted the game. The ball came to me, and once again, like every time in this match, Tsubasa stepped up to defend.

"This is far from over." I told him, cutting the ball with a sharp turn. He stuck his foot out, but I dodged just in time.

I found myself once again facing Wakabayashi. This time, I struck with the outside of my foot. He dove the wrong way at first, but he planted one hand against the ground, shifted mid-air, and just barely deflected the shot away.

'Damn it…' I thought, frustrated.

They recovered the ball, but a bit further up the field, Soda intercepted it from Taki, Nankatsu's right wing and launched it forward.

I sprinted up the pitch, linking with Ide in a quick one-two. He barely avoided a sliding tackle from Takasugi before returning the pass to me. With Tsubasa and the others rushing in, I didn't hesitate, I took the shot.

This time, I aimed for the post. I curved the ball dramatically. From Wakabayashi's perspective, it looked like it was heading wide, he didn't even dive. But the ball swerved sharply back at the last moment.

"Damn it," he muttered, leaping too late.

The ball smashed into the inside of the post… and bounced in.

My first goal.

"Never say never." I said, turning to look at Ishizaki, his face frozen in shock.

"Off the post and in, Orochi levels the score, 1-1!" the commentator shouted, the crowd roaring once more.

The match resumed without delay. Misaki and Tsubasa exchanged passes as they advanced up the field.

"Misaki, here!" called out Tsubasa.

"I'm sending it!" Misaki replied, delivering the pass.

Tsubasa surged forward, and once again, he found me blocking his path. This time, he pulled off a flawless combo, a sharp cut followed by precise stepovers. He got past me, but I stayed close, shadowing his every move until we reached the edge of the penalty box.

Just as he tried another dribble, I read his move and knocked the ball away with a strong shoulder-to-shoulder challenge. But the ball rolled right into Misaki's path. He was already charging forward, with Soda sprinting to close the gap.

Misaki readied himself to strike.

At the same time, Tsubasa, recovering quickly from the physical clash, raced toward the ball again. Then, both of them struck the ball in perfect unison.

A dual strike.

The ball rocketed forward like a mirage, impossible to follow.

I slid in, managing to get a foot in its path. I braced myself, trying to stop the force with everything I had but the shot was too powerful.

It slipped past me and slammed into the net.

"Unbelievable goal from Nankatsu! They take the lead once again!" the commentator shouted, the stadium erupting.

"We finally pulled it off, Misaki." said Tsubasa, elated.

"Yes, Tsubasa!" Misaki replied, beaming with joy.

"This can't be happening, I need to figure something out." I muttered to myself, eyes fixed on them.

After kickoff, we pushed forward again. Mihashi, our left winger, was exchanging passes with Nakai, our left midfielder, trying to find a gap in their defense. But just as we were starting to get into rhythm, the referee blew the whistle for halftime.

We made our way back to the locker room.

The coach was speaking, but my mind was elsewhere. I took a few sips of water, lost in my thoughts.

In Nankatsu's locker room.

"You're doing very well out there." said Coach Furuoya.

"The goal's been credited to Tsubasa."

It was time to return to the pitch.

The second half kicked off, and I had the ball again. I fought to break through Tsubasa's defense, and finally, I started noticing something, my dribbles were wearing him down. He looked a little more fatigued than before.

Without wasting another second, I accelerated.

Adrenaline surged through me as I realized momentum was shifting. I dribbled past each player in front of me with explosiveness.

"Is the ball glued to his feet or what?!" shouted Urabe, as I left him behind along with another defender.

We were now 3 against 2.

I drew one of the two remaining defenders in and then passed the ball to Ide, who was already inside the box.

Wakabayashi charged out, ready to snatch the ball from Ide's feet, but just before he could get there, Ide lobbed it over him.

With his incredible reflexes, Wakabayashi leapt, nearly reaching it.

But he hadn't accounted for me.

I had followed the entire play. As the ball floated in the air, I leapt up and struck it midair with a bicycle kick. Upside down, I locked eyes with Wakabayashi just as I swung.

And I gave him a small, confident smirk.

"GOAL! Orochi with a brace! What an equalizer!" the commentator roared.

"I've conceded not one, but two goals..." muttered Wakabayashi, eyes fixed on my back as I returned to my position on the field.

We were now tied, and I had no intention of letting it stay that way.

Nankatsu had possession again and quickly pushed into dangerous territory, nearing our box. Taki passed the ball back to Misaki, who then sent it forward to Tsubasa.

I was just a second too late, Tsubasa received the ball cleanly and took a shot.

Tsuji caught it… but the power behind the strike was too much. He was pushed backward, crossing the goal line with the ball still in his hands.

"Another brace, this time for Tsubasa Ozora! Nankatsu pulls ahead once more, 3–2!" shouted the commentator.

We didn't waste a second.

As soon as the whistle blew for kickoff, I took off toward their goal.

Misaki and Tsubasa closed in fast, each bumping me at the shoulders, trying to take the ball. I held my ground and attempted a dribble, but Misaki miscalculated and struck my foot instead of the ball.

"Free kick!" the referee called.

I placed the ball down carefully and leaned in to whisper something to Soda and Ide. They nodded without a word.

I took the shot.

The ball soared toward goal, curving toward the left post just like the last time. Wakabayashi, having learned from before, anticipated it and launched himself, punching it away with both fists.

But that was exactly what I wanted.

Ide was waiting at the exact spot where Wakabayashi deflected the ball, on the opposite side stood Soda.

Ide dove forward and connected with a low header. Wakabayashi, too far out of position and momentarily blinded by Soda's movement, couldn't reach it.

"GOAL! Mitsuru Ide scores! Azumaichi equalizes for the third time!"