Esperion youth 2

"Perhaps we should adopt a 3-4-3 formation," Aizaki suggested. "For our forwards, Aoi and Tachibana and I could take the front, Otomo, Izuki, Hasegawa, and Suga for our midfield, and Kaita, Ueda, and Nakano in defense." Aizaki looked around for confirmation.

"I think that formation is okay," Hasegawa agreed, "I and Izuki could play as defensive midfielders, with Otomo and Suga higher up on the wings."

Everyone nodded in agreement, expressing satisfaction with the proposed formation. They further discussed details like set-piece takers and other strategies.

Meanwhile, outside the pitch, people started to gather around to watch the final match between Esperion Youth and the exam takers. These spectators were mostly Esperion Youth fans and workers, excitedly chattering among themselves.

"They're really doing it. I hadn't heard anything about a game between the youth team and the exam takers, but I'm here for it!" exclaimed a girl, her voice filled with excitement.

"I know! And look at that, even the exam takers who didn't make it are seated, wanting to watch the match," replied the boy beside her. "I'm hoping the final candidates play well, especially for those kids' sake."

Back on the pitch, Esperion's youth team was still discussing tactics, leaving the exam takers growing impatient from the waiting.

Aizaki patiently waited for the match to kick off when a conversation drifted into his ears.

"Hey, what's up with those boots?" an Esperion player with a low cut hair asked Aoi, with a smile on his face.

"Well, I've been wearing them for a long time; that's why they look like this. Still, they're good enough to use." Aoi replied

The player introduced himself to Aoi, and Aoi did the same. As the player turned around to leave, their eyes briefly met. Akutsu's smile widened, while Aizaki furrowed his brows.

"There's something wrong with this guy," was Aizaki's immediate thought. He looked at Aoi, who was jogging back with a smile on his face, and shook his head. "Focus," he told himself, tuning out the distractions and focusing on his opponents.

Esperion's youth team was arranged in a 4-4-2 formation and looked ready to go.

"Fweeep!!"

The whistle sounded, and Aoi passed the ball back to Aizaki, who was playing the Attacking Midfielder position. Aizaki controlled the ball and observed his opponents.

"He looked at the opposition who had suddenly overloaded the right-hand side of the pitch and thought to himself, 'It's probably a trap, but...'"

"Swoosh."

He released a through pass towards the left where Otomo was waiting. Aoi glided towards the left wing, opening himself up for a pass. Otomo reacted immediately and released the ball to him.

"Eh?"

Aoi, who controlled the ball and skipped past his marker easily, let out a weird sound in surprise at how easy it was. Putting it at the back of his mind, he quickly cut into the middle of the field and fired a shot from just outside the 18, unfortunately hitting the woodwork.

Gasps of surprise could be heard all around the pitch.

"Did you see that? They cut through the defense with just three players!"

"I know, how is that even possible?"

"What are the youth team even doing?"

The onlookers whispered among themselves.

Aizaki frowned at the sudden development. "Why are they so... bad?" he couldn't help but ask himself.

Izuki (DM) received a pass from Kaita (CB). He spun around to face the opposition goal but was quickly shut down. He looked around and spotted Aizaki losing his marker in the middle of the pitch before lifting an up-through pass to him.

Aizaki chested the ball down just before the halfway line, giving his marker enough time to catch up to him. With a simple drop of the shoulder, he skipped past the defender before passing a pinpoint, defense-splitting ground pass to Tachibana, who just entered the penalty box.

Tachibana, rushing into the box, hit the ball first time, but due to pressure from the defenders, his shot was slightly off, and the keeper was able to push the ball back into the pitch. Just when they thought the attack was over, Aizaki came from outside the box and hammered a pinpoint shot straight into the net, scoring the first goal of the game.

The people watching were left stunned by what was happening on the pitch. The rookies had just taken the lead against the experienced Esperion youth team.

Back on the pitch, the exam takers celebrated taking the lead, but Aizaki couldn't understand what was going on.

"Something is wrong," Aizaki mused. "They can't be that bad, right? It's almost as if they are playing together for the first time."

While he was yet speaking, he noticed Akutsu, Esperion's (ST), raise his hand.

"Can we do it now?" he asked while looking at his teammates.

"Sure."

"Alright."

"I'm ready."

His teammates replied one after another, making the smile on his face widen. Suddenly the atmosphere on the pitch shifted as Akutsu said, "We all agree then, glad we're on the same page."

The game resumed, and the Youth team just shot the ball straight to their opponents' defenders, as if inviting them to try again. The exam takers paid no mind to it and attacked as usual.

Aizaki got the ball in his own half and looked up. He saw Aoi run past Akutsu, who didn't even move, and into the opponent's half, free of his marker. He sent a lobbed pass to Aoi, who was now free in opposition territory.

Aoi looked at the defender in front of him, whose center of balance was currently leaning towards the right, and decided to go left. The ball dipped and landed in front of him as he used his first touch to push the ball left of the defender, leaving him in the dust. However, just as he was about to reach the ball, someone beat him to it.

He looked up and was shocked because Akutsu, who he left in his team's half, was currently looking at him with his signature smile, only difference was that it looked especially menacing right now.

Akutsu passed the ball and immediately sprinted towards his opponents' goal. The youth players connected strings of passes and progressed up the pitch quickly, never taking more than one touch per person. Like thread through a needle, the ball moved from player to player, leaving the exam takers frozen in place. The passes connected, and in the blink of an eye, the ball was safely in the back of the net.

The whole place went silent before erupting in cries of joy.

"OOOHHHHHH!!"

Esperion Youth: 1. Exam takers: 1