Rain hit Tokyo like drums in a war zone
Reiji walked alone under a broken umbrella
Headphones in
Eyes unfocused
He wasn't heading home
He was heading somewhere no one knew he went
A rusted building at the edge of an old shopping street
Inside
Screens
Clips
Stats
Every match he had ever played was recorded
He built it himself
His lab
His chaos zone
And tonight
Someone else had entered it
---
A chair spun slowly
A man in a black coat sat there
Dripping wet
Slicked-back hair
Eyes like a vulture
"Reiji Kurokawa
Clubless
Formless
Masterless"
Reiji didn't speak
Just tossed his bag down
The man smiled
"My name is Dmitri
I work with the Hidden Consortium"
Reiji narrowed his eyes
"There's no club by that name"
Dmitri grinned
"Exactly
We don't play by FIFA's rules
We play with power
We build systems
Then destroy them"
He slid a contract across the table
"You won't sign this now
But you will
Because the world will make sure no club accepts you
They fear what they can't predict"
---
Reiji stared at the paper
No club name
No country
No rules
Just numbers
And silence
He pushed it back
"Get out
I play football
Not politics"
Dmitri stood
"You play war
You just haven't accepted it yet"
Then he was gone
Like smoke in the rain
---
Back at school
The vibe had changed
Players whispered
Teachers avoided Reiji
Rumors spread
A scout from a European superclub had approached Leo again
But this time
He had one condition
"We'll take you if you leave that boy behind"
Leo didn't answer
But Yamato heard it
And told Reiji
---
In the locker room
The tension was thick
Reiji looked at Leo
"You gonna do it"
Leo didn't blink
"If I say no
I stay in your shadow forever
If I say yes
I betray the only one who ever scared me"
Reiji leaned back
"Then choose
Not for me
For yourself"
Kenta threw his jersey down
"This is insane
Why is football turning into a damn movie"
Yamato barked
"Because we're not playing football anymore
We're playing his game now"
---
That weekend
Minamino faced off against Rinsen Academy
The top defense in Tokyo
Zero goals conceded in six matches
Reiji walked into the field
Hands in pockets
Didn't even warm up
Reporters went wild
"Is he arrogant or injured"
"Who does this kid think he is"
First 10 minutes
Minamino couldn't even get past the halfway line
Rinsen's defense was robotic
Perfect positioning
No emotion
All calculation
Reiji didn't move from midfield
Then
Suddenly
He walked over to Coach
And said one word
"Blindfold"
Coach blinked
"What"
Reiji pulled a strip of cloth from his pocket
Tied it over his own eyes
The stadium lost its mind
"He's gone mad"
"This is disrespect"
---
Play restarted
And Reiji
Blindfolded
Started passing
Perfectly
One to Kenta
Then a flick to Leo
Then a cross to Yamato
They scored
1–0
Crowd exploded
Reiji turned to the camera and smiled
"You don't need to see
If you already know everything"
---
After the match
Leo cornered him
"Why are you doing all this
Why provoke the world"
Reiji looked out at the stadium lights
"Because the world wants normal
I exist to break that"