Rain stopped
But tension stayed
Minamino's locker room was filled with heat
Not from sweat
But paranoia
Someone leaked the plan last time
Reiji rewrote the whole play midmatch and still won
But that wasn't victory
That was just survival
Coach Nakamura gathered everyone
"We're entering Regionals
Win five games
We go national
But we've been flagged
Other schools are watching us now
Not for football
For him"
Everyone turned to Reiji
Who sat at the back
Drinking water
Unbothered
---
After practice
Leo caught up with him
"You feel it right
The pressure
The shift
They're coming for you"
Reiji smiled slightly
"Let them
I'm not hiding anymore"
Leo raised an eyebrow
"You were ever hiding"
Reiji looked at the sunset
"I used to
Now I'm baiting"
---
That night
Mika slipped a flash drive under Reiji's desk
No words
No expression
He picked it up
Plugged it in after midnight
Encrypted file
Titled
"QUEEN'S GAMBIT – THEORY TO COLLAPSE THE GHOST"
He opened it
What he saw wasn't football
It was war
Every move he ever made
Mapped
Analyzed
Broken down
Even his randomness
Was being statistically measured
The file concluded with one sentence:
"All geniuses have patterns. We find it. We break it."
Reiji stared at the screen
No reaction
Then laughed
Soft
Quiet
Menacing
"They think I play chess
I'm playing Go"
---
Next day
Match vs Asahikawa West
A team with no star
But perfect unity
The kind that plays as one body
First half
Minamino struggled
0–0
Reiji didn't move past midfield
Just watched
Tracked their movement
The rhythm of their passes
Second half
He pulled Leo aside
"Mark their left winger
Don't let him receive a single pass"
Leo frowned
"He's the weakest one
Why him"
Reiji smirked
"Exactly"
---
Game resumed
Leo blocked the left
Suddenly Asahikawa's entire shape collapsed
Their striker stopped moving freely
Midfielders hesitated
Passes grew forced
By 70th minute
Reiji made one run
Just one
And it led to the only goal of the match
Minamino won
1–0
Everyone cheered
Except Reiji
He walked to the stand
Mika was gone
---
Back at school
A package arrived for Reiji
No name
No return address
Inside
A jersey
Blue and black
With no logo
Just the number
99
And a note
"You've caught their attention
Try not to disappoint
There are bigger boards than this one"
---
Reiji folded the jersey
Placed it in his drawer
Leo walked in
"What was that"
Reiji looked him dead in the eye
"An invitation to hell"