The moment the ball ricocheted far into the sky, everyone could see that Denji’s face had gradually lost its color. Hell, they could even see his legs quivering, as if losing all of the strength instantly. Somehow, in the most crucial moment in this game, he missed the shot by a wide margin, putting the team on the edge of the cliff.

"Fucking hell... He missed..."

"That was a bad shot as well. He used the wrong technique."

"Can you see how nervous he was? He should be a freshman, right? Poor boy..."

Somehow, the whispers around only made things worse. Denji felt like crap right now. No, even worse. He didn’t even know what word to describe his feeling, just that he wanted to dig a hole so deep, straight to the core of the earth itself, to hide himself from everyone. The shame he carried for missing the penalty was so immense that he didn’t dare to face his teammates straight in the face.

The atmosphere among the team also reached rock bottom in a blink. They all witnessed the quiet celebration from Shimizu Higashi, and it would be a lie if this didn’t shake their spirits. Still, facing Denji, who walked back like a zombie, no one dared to say anything here. In the end, it had to be Kumiko, as the girl stepped forward and hugged the boy straight to his head.

"Don’t worry, no one will blame you for this." She whispered to him reassuringly. "Just trust Ryukkun, he will step up next to save us."

As she said that, the next taker from Shimizu Higashi also stepped up. This time, it was Wataru Takagi, the left winger, who fought tooth and nail against Hori earlier. The boy came with full spirit, carrying the whole team’s expectation to gain the first lead of the shootout.

"Come on, Wataru! This is your moment!"

"Takagi, I swear to God, don’t overthink it!"

"Just whack it as strongly as possible!"

Higo himself was quite solemn right now, punching his own fist to loosen the tension on his shoulder. His eyes were so focused on the boy in front of him, trying to use the intimidation tactic to put more pressure on the opponent’s side.

’If we want to have a chance, I have to stop this, huh?’ He took a deep breath for a moment. ’Don’t worry, Denji! Your failure... I will pay it back for you!’

FWEEE!

The moment the referee blew the whistle, Wataru Takagi also started running. Coincidentally, at the same time, Higo also moved, startling everyone else behind the goal.

"What is he doing?!"

"Is he stupid or what?!"

At least, those were the sentiments that spread throughout the whole stand. Well, it couldn’t be helped. Higo’s move was indeed so bold, not even waiting for Wataru Takagi to get closer to the ball. If anything, this allowed the taker to go to see his movement and whack the ball in the opposite direction.

This was also exactly what Wataru Takagi tried to do.

He saw Higo move to the left, so the boy threw away all of the intelligence inside his head just to send the ball there. However, at the last second, his peripheral vision noticed Higo moved toward the opposite direction, one where he was going to kick at, and his eyes widened instantly at realization.

’That movement before is a fake to bait me! Fuck!’

Unfortunately, the realization was too late, as he couldn’t change his stance anymore. Hell, the panic at the last second only made his technique waver, and instead of using his inside foot, the boy accidentally kicked the ball with his toe. As a result...

BAM!

The ball defied far from the original course he intended it to be, going wider to the left side of the goal. Higo might fail to get the ball, but it wasn’t even close to the goal. No, the ball just went outside of the pitch, bouncing closer to the stands.

"OH! HE MISSES!"

"What the fuck is going on here?! Hakodate Nishi’s player missed, and now it is time for Shimizu Higashi’s player to do that?!"

"This is a fucking pure drama!"

The miss itself was bad, and since Higo didn’t get the ball directly, no one talked about his movement again after this. Still, the boy got up from the ground, clenching his fist tightly before pointing his finger at Denji.

"Come on! I get this for you!"

Even though Denji couldn’t hear what Higo said, he choked for a moment, holding back his tears. The boy knew that this moment was dedicated to him who missed earlier, and while this couldn’t change the fact that he missed the shot, the boy at least could feel a little bit better knowing that he got his senpai on his back.

With two failures in this round, the game was still 2-2 with no one gaining any edge yet. However, when talking about momentum, it was clear that Hakodate Nishi was slightly better. They had just come back from the edge of the cliff alive, so it was no wonder they were far more motivated than ever.

This time, it was Usami who got the ball. The boy was so calm here, he didn’t look winded at all. Hell, if people didn’t know better, they would think that Usami had just come to the pitch at the latest minute of the game, never imagining that the boy was probably the one who ran the most today. Well, his endurance and composure in this moment were the reasons why Kumiko picked him as the fourth taker.

FWEEE!

BAM!

Much to Kang Do-Jin’s frustration, he failed to read the penalty again. Just like before, the ball went straight to the middle for the third time today. The boy started to recognize the pattern here, but he somehow got entangled in a messy thought inside his head.

’So, will the next be in the middle again? What if it is not? Have I gotten trapped in their mind game? What the hell is going on?’

Well, Higo didn’t really care about his confusion. Hell, if anything, the boy would be happier if his opponent couldn’t maintain his concentration at this moment. Still, that was the least he cared about right now, as one more boy came to the penalty spot to fight against him.

’Now, how should I treat this penalty kick?’