The storm Reiji left in London hadn't cleared
It echoed quietly through secret channels of football analysts
But in Japan
Things looked calm on the surface
Minamino High returned to their usual training
Yamato was hyped
The boys felt like heroes after beating Nanshin
But Reiji
He hadn't spoken a single full sentence since he came back
He just watched
Silent
Drawing tactics on napkins
On walls
Even on the back of his hand
Yamato tossed him a water bottle
"Hey bro
You ever gonna smile again
Or did the Brits erase your emotions"
Reiji blinked once
"Football is heading somewhere dangerous"
---
Later that week
Minamino was invited to a regional tournament
A small event
Nothing big
Just local schools
But one name on the bracket sent a cold chill down Reiji's spine
Ippongi Institute
A private school no one had heard of until recently
But within one year
They rose from division D to division A
Never lost a match
Crushed every opponent with insane efficiency
Reiji walked up to the wall and stared at their team photo
Then pointed to a shadow in the back row
"That one
He's the reason"
Yamato squinted
"You mean the captain
What's so weird about him"
Reiji whispered
"He plays like me
Down to the last movement"
---
Match day
Minamino vs Ippongi
Crowd wasn't big
But tension was suffocating
Warmups started
The moment Reiji walked out onto the pitch
A boy from Ippongi stepped forward
Tall
Pale
Wore his number 7 like it meant war
His name
Akito Renge
He looked Reiji dead in the eyes
"You're the original
I'm the perfected version"
Reiji didn't respond
He just walked past him
But his fingers clenched slightly
---
The whistle blew
First five minutes
Minamino moved confidently
But then something terrifying happened
Ippongi started copying their exact plays
Their movement
Their rhythm
Their tempo
Every pass Minamino made
Ippongi mirrored it within seconds
It was like playing against a reflection
Yamato panicked
"Bro what is this
They're literally us
How's that even possible"
Reiji narrowed his eyes
"He's not just copying
He's mimicking without understanding
That makes him dangerous
But flawed"
---
First half ended
0–0
The audience was confused
The game felt…unnatural
Like watching chess pieces fight with knives
During halftime
Reiji sat alone
Akito approached
Leaned on the bench
"You're the reason I exist
When I saw your breakdowns
I thought
Why be original
When you can be efficient
Perfect
I removed the soul from the playbook
And now I only leave results"
Reiji stood up slowly
"Without soul
There's no unpredictability
And without unpredictability
You're nothing but a shadow"
---
Second half started
Reiji changed nothing
No subs
No formation shift
Akito smirked
"Still trusting your gut
I calculated all your possible reactions You're trapped already"
Minamino passed to midfield
Yamato checked his shoulder
Tried to run
But Ippongi's players were there first
Every time
Akito intercepted
Sprinted alone toward goal
Goal
0–1
The crowd gasped
Commentators whispered
"Reiji is losing
To his clone"
---
Reiji still didn't react
He just looked at Akito's run
Again
And again
And then he smiled
A tiny one
Barely noticeable
"I get it now
You can't create
You can only repeat
And now
I'll give you a pattern you'll choke on"
---
Minute 70
Reiji walked to Yamato
"Trust me
You're gonna score twice
But do it without looking at me again
Ever"
Yamato was stunned
"Wait what
How will I know when to move"
Reiji tapped his head
"You won't
But he'll think you do
And that's all we need"
---
The ball rolled
Reiji didn't touch it much
But his movements were off
Weird
Unpredictable
He overran passes
Slipped intentionally
Faked being tired
Akito's face tensed
This wasn't part of the pattern
Minamino lobbed a pass
Yamato ran late
Looked like it was a failed play
Except
The bounce curved
Reiji had calculated wind direction
Yamato volleyed it mid-air
Goal
1–1
Akito flinched
"Impossible
That wasn't in his database"
---
Final five minutes
Reiji kept walking away from the ball
Dragging defenders
Opening invisible lanes
One final run
Akito tried to intercept
Slipped
Yamato faked a pass
Shot low
Goal
2–1
Whistle
Minamino wins
---
Akito stood frozen in the rain
His hands shaking
"You broke the system
You ruined the algorithm
That wasn't genius
That was chaos"
Reiji turned around
"No
That was football
The kind that makes people cry
Laugh
Scream
Not numbers
Not mirrors"
---
Later that night
Akito deleted his database
His walls covered in red strings
Trying to understand how he lost
But some questions
Have no answers in code
Only on grass