Another 186: The 4 falling stars 4

FREE KICK FOR THE REDS, AND THE BALL IS ENTRUSTED TO THEIR PLAYMAKER YUMIKURA WHO IS... AH, HE'S ONCE AGAIN RUSHING TOWARDS MISUGI!

Uh, What!?

AH, NO, THAT WAS JUST A TRICK TO LURE HIM TOWARDS HIM! HE ACTUALLY DID A HEEL PASS WHEN RUSHING!

Ah, way to go!

AND BEFORE BEING MARKED, SUGIMOTO IS SENDING THE BALL TO OKANO, RUSHING ON THE RIGHT SIDELINE!

Yeah, go for it Okano!

THIS TIME OKANO IS SENDING AN EARLY CROSS FORWARD, BEFORE FC TOKYO CAN REACT, THIS IS OF COURSE TOWARDS...


AHH! THE CROSS WAS AIMED FOR EMERSON, BUT THE REFEREE IS WHISTLING! HE'S OFFSIDE!

What!? But...

LOOKS LIKE MISUGI MANAGED TO LEAD THE DEFENSE LINE EVEN FROM HIS CURRENT POSITION!

He... He can do it from so far away...

We still have aces up our sleeves, though!
......!!!

AFTER THIS INTENSE START, IT LOOKS LIKE THE RED DIAMONDS HAVE SEIZED THE PACE OF THE MATCH... MOSTLY BECAUSE INSTEAD OF MARKING YUMIKURA, MISUGI HAS FALLEN BACK TO THE DEFENSE LINE...


... TO USE HIS TRADEMARK TACTIC, TO LEAD THE DEFENSE LINE LIKE A NOBLE LEADING THE TROOPS!

Da... Damn, even the skill Gamo taught me isn't working!

Hmm, that's strange, Misugi was fired up, that's why I provoked him in the first place... But he's only using
his usual techniques... I provoked him so he'd use his perfect copy to break him... Was he calmed down by that yellow card? Or...

BUT OBSERVING THE MATCH MORE AND MORE GAMO WOULD SOON COME TO ANOTHER CONCLUSION... MISUGI WOULD ATTACK LESS AND LESS, WITH HIS EFFICIENCY DECREASING... PARTICIPATING LESS AND LESS IN DEFENSE, ENDING LEAVING ONLY INSTRUCTIONS TO HIS TEAMMATES... AND DURING HALF TIME...



FC TOKYO'S LOCKER ROOM, AFTER THE HALF TIME MEETING.


... Jun? I was told to come here... Why are you staying here in the dark? The match is going to resume...
... I can't go.

You shouldn't be afraid to go back, you've played well so far! You...
That has nothing to do with that. I meant to say that it's over, Yayoi.

I... I see, but couldn't you still be useful on the bench, giving instructions to...
... I told them to bring you here because... I can't even get up. I can't get up and go to the technical area either.

What? But... You didn't even use perfect copy in that first half, you... You even preserved your
stamina as the match went on...
I knew I'd break if I used perfect copy. But I didn't preserve anything. Even playing like usual, my body
eventually stopped listening. Once I sat down here... I couldn't get up.

I... I see... I'll help you go to the usual hospital...
... Thank you. And there is something else I'm going to need from you...

I already know. Just like the face you're making right now. There was no need to hide in the dark.
I see. Looks like there's nothing I can hide from you.

... Yeah, so you'd better not start seeing another girl behind my back.
Ahah! No, no one else could improve my mood in that kind of situation anyway.

WHILE THE REST OF THE MATCH WAS STILL CLOSE, YUMIKURA'S FIELD SHAPING WAS EVENTUALLY ENOUGH TO LURE A DEFENDER AWAY, OPENING A PATH FOR EMERSON'S BULLET SHOT... WITH 9 GOALS, HE WAS THE CURRENT TOP SCORER OF THE J-LEAGUE.


ALTHOUGH FC TOKYO BECAME AWARE OF YUMIKURA'S FIELD SHAPING, THEY ALSO TRIED TO CATCH UP BY BEING MORE ON THE OFFENSIVE, A MOVE PREDICTED BY GAMO THAT GAVE ENOUGH SPACE FOR ADRIANO TO SCORE ON HIS OWN. IT WAS A COMPLETE DEFEAT FOR THE GOLDEN AGE...