Chapter 10: Result
The game started with Team X doing the kick-off this time around.
They tried their basic combination to get a little bit further into the last third and then concentrate on passing the ball to Baro who would continue the attack.
But those actions were very predictable by now and the one that intercepted the ball from getting to Baro was Haruo.
After his sliding to get the ball he stood up quickly and passed the ball over to Kunigami that was free to take the ball and run past him. Just in time before Baro could get him into trouble.
"Hey there, Hedgehog. Looking for something?" Haruo teased the big fella and then started running forward as well with Baro close by trying to help at defence.
Kunigami passed forward to Raichi who stood a little bit further ahead and had positioned himself close to the sideline.
Raichi tried to go further but was intercepted by two guys. When he looked to the left he felt something strange. There was no option to pass to hist left and what he saw Haruo pointing at was forward?
Gritting his teeth Raichi made a long diagonal pass between the two opponents who looked back and tried to get the ball.
The player that stood there was Bachira who sprinted to the ball.
But what they did not expect was that Chigiri that had already started running from the back passed them quickly and got to the ball sooner than them.
"What the!? What speed is that!? Shit! Defence! Block him from shooting!!" One guy shouted after he was too slow getting the ball.
Bachira only made a heel kick backwards so that the ball landed perfectly at Chigiri's legs and he could run with it.
Chigiri ran along the sideline and glanced over to the middle. With a powerful kick, he crossed it towards the middle. But what got most Team X defenders surprised is that the ball went towards the outside of the penalty box.
What they could see was a player jump high and make a direct volley that flew over their heads into the left side of the net.
Baro that saw the goal go in gnashed his teeth. The player that scored was Haruo again. But Baro could not believe it.
How did he lose track of a single player that was in front of him most of the time? Was it the crossing danger that got too much of his attention that Haruo had the time to reposition himself?
It had to be that outcome and Baro was not really that far off with his idea.
Haruo noticed after the shout that the opponent made it also made everyone try to defend the penalty zone. But at the same time, a lot of space in front of the penalty zone opened up.
With his great jumping strength and powerful midrange shots, it was only a matter of where to shoot the ball. And that is what he did. A beautiful direct volley.
That made it a 4 - 4 score. The same as Team X. And as an individual battle, Haruo was now even with Baro since he also made an assist last half and also only scored 3 goals. One more and he would surpass that guy.
The hat-trick Haruo now made felt refreshing. Everyone from Team Z felt relieved knowing they really could work this into a victory.
"Nyahaha! Nice one, Sugewara." Bachria grinned while having run back to let Chigiri take his position for that attack.
"Great play, guys! One more to go!" Haruo felt uplifted again. But he made sure not to get conceited and went back concentrating on playing. They still needed that one goal.
Team X was glaring at them and they felt the pressure. Even those that were not Baro could feel that Team Z had changed drastically.
The next kick-off was more defensive than the last and Team X started to distribute the ball more evenly without focusing on Baro all the time.
The time trickled down and everyone started getting exhausted the longer the match went on. At some point Team Z's defence made a mistake after Iemon made a slide tackle to hinder an opponent to shot.
It would have been all alright if not for Baro being right at the spot to pouch the lose ball and shoot.
Everyone seemed to tense up but Gagamaru managed to safe it and still hit the ball with his fist. That gave Team X a corner but it was better than getting that 5 goal in and lose the match.
Haruo also positioned himself defensively.
When the corner was made by what seemed the most technical player from Team X it flew right towards Haruo and Baro who was beside him.
Struggling to get a little tad bit of better footing with Baro pressing against him he jumped at the same time as Baro. But what surprised most of the people was that Haruo outperformed Baro in reach and passed the ball towards Raichi who was still at the front.
After performing his header Haruo gnashed his teeth and started sprinting to the other side of the field.
Say what you want but his stamina was already going at its limit with all the sprints he performed in this match. But if he didn't rush forward now Raichi would end up losing the ball without an option to pass.
No one else from Team Z had the strength left anymore to push to the front.
What made things worse was that Baro was actually trying to hunt Haruo down like a lion chasing his prey.
"I will not let you do anything!!" Baro growled under his heavy breath.
"Haha...Then come, you rabid animal. Let me put you down with another goal!!" Haruo grinned and increased his pace.
With those two it was like a game of tag than anything. Baro didn't even notice how Haruo was misleading him and giving time for the other two to make their plays.
Raichi already passed the ball off to Isagi that had positioned himself to an advantageous position to give Raichi a critical pass to his feet.
Baro who saw that lost his last sanity. At least that is how Haruo judged the jump into the shot to block it with his back.
The ball went loose and rolled to the left where Haruo stood ready.
"He won't be able to shoot from there. Block that other guy!" Baro shouted now and tried to get Isagi marked.
The sad thing for Baro was that Haruo was not going to pass at all. Now being free from his marking he instantly shot the loose ball from one corner to the other one with a small curve to the left that sent the ball into the net right behind the goalie that stood at the left pole to close any shooting gaps.
Everyone who saw that shot looked at it in disbelief. At the same time, the sound of a whistle appeared on the field.
Everyone seemed to stop breathing and looked at the clock to make sure what that whistle was indicating. A foul or an off-side would be the last thing Team Z needed right now.
But something else entirely happened. A big grin on Haruo made him laugh loudly.
The game had ended and the final result was a 5 - 4 for Team Z. No one thought that 45 minutes had already passed. They all had their focus on the game.
"Yes!! We made it!" Igarashi was the first to shout out loud. Everyone else in Team Z suddenly got the win into their brain and started celebrating by tackling Haruo.
Even Raichi who looked like despair consumed him again a short second ago after missing his shot grinned and joined the celebration.
Team X on the other hand was completely down.
Baro just clenched his fist and started walking off the field. But Haruo noticed that and left his team and jogged over to him.
"Hey, hedgehog!"
Baro stopped and glared at Haruo. But seeing Haruo stretching out a hand and smile at him suddenly stopped his anger.
"It was a damn fine game. I hope to see you perform even better and make sure to stay in Blue Lock."
Baro stared at Haruo and actually took his handshake. "Make sure that you peasant don't get destroyed in the next matches. I will be the one to show you that you are below me. You won today because you got a better foundation..." Then he seemed to look at the other players in Team Z and walked away.
Later back in the locker room Team Z showered and had an immensely happy mood.
"Did you see how well I blocked the left-wing!? No one is going to ever get past my spirit!" Igarashi laughed loudly.
"Right...About that." Haruo smiled devilishly after remembering something. Then he grabbed Igarashi and pulled him back under the shower. "Time to make sure on my promise from the first half, monk."
"Huh!? Hey, wait!? What are you going to do!!? Dude!!? AAAARGH!!"
Everyone was curious about what was going on suddenly. But, when everyone saw what was going on, most of the team started laughing.
Shortly after Haruo slapped his hand on a clean surface and laughed as well. "Well, then. From today onward I will call you moonshine. How does it feel?" That surface was the clean shaved bald head of Igarashi.
He did promise to scalp him after all and now was the best time to do so.
"You ass....My hair..." Igarashi sniffed a little.
"What? You should be used to this since you lived in a temple, no? Let this be a lesson and a celebratory gift."
"But it took so damn long to get it back growing!!" Igarashi still complained but when he saw Haruo smile the same way as before he stopped.
In the end, he could only touch his non-existent hair and sigh.
"Nyahaha! The look suits you." Bachira was standing around naked and laughed at Igarashi. That got him a slap with a towel on his ass. "NYAAAA!! What the hell!?"
Haruo laughed. He really felt like doing that after seeing him come out of the shower.
"What? You expect not to get some after running around but naked, panther-kun? Get some clothes on already." To that everyone seemed to nod and agree.
Bachira only pouted and put on some clothes.
Somehow today everyone knew that Haruo could hold a really deep grudge if someone annoyed him.
That made everyone look at Raichi in pity and of course, he noticed that and tried to apologize to Haruo.
"Hmm? What are you talking about? You want to say sorry for being an ass? Sure, I accept that. I was not yet sure how to punish you but I guess the punch should have been enough.", said Haruo with a deadpan expression.
"Huh!? That's not fair!" Igarashi somehow tried to get Raichi to be punished.
"Shut up, quirt!" Of course, Raichi was not going to get pushed around.
After their little time together all of them put on their pajamas and went sleeping. They were after all dead tired and the next round was already in a few days.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone