THIRD PERSON POV
The Locker room held a tense atmosphere, one everyone was scared to break for fear of interrupting Hibari's pre-game ritual.
Kagesaki Tech was one win away from Nationals, located in the Tokyo prefecture in a city filled with noise, Hibari Yakushiji made everyone dance to his tune.
The man in question was currently sitting in comfortable silence with his eyes closed. Comfortable for him, not for his team who were sweating before the match had even started.
With wild teal-green hair that flares back in sharp layers and intense, piercing green eyes, Hibari Yakushiji has a presence that makes the air around him feel colder. His expression is calm but commanding, as if he's already calculated the outcome of the match before the kickoff.
He wears the Kagesaki Tech Uniform, a sleek, light blue jersey with subtle black and white trim hugging his frame like armor. The name "Kagesaki Tech" is printed across the chest in sharp, block letters, and the number 14 stands bold on both his back and shorts, marking him like a branded weapon.
His light blue shorts match the jersey perfectly, flowing just enough to let his movement remain sharp and efficient. Underneath, a black compression layer peeks from beneath the sleeves and shorts.
There are three rituals that Hibari enforces before a match, absolute silence being the first. No conversations needed to be had, everyone was to be focused on the match. Your mind should already be set to the wavelength of victory. All his teammates, or rather, loyal dogs...knew the rules already. They knew better than to question him.
The second being his lacing ritual, a ritual to ensure the best and most comfortable cleat tightness. Before every match, Hibari sat in perfect posture and untied his cleats. Then tied them again. Slowly. Three times. He thought of it as a way to maximize his mobility, it did nothing of the sort, but aren't rituals just that? Mere superstitions that provide no real benefit?
Once the team was lined up for kickoff, Hibari's eyes moved to the enemy. He didn't look at their faces. He watched how they moved. How they chased. How they hesitated.He was looking for Strays.
Players who ran on instinct. Players who acted without reason. Players who didn't belong on a field of order.
Then he whispered their numbers under his breath, quiet but clear."Four. Seven. Ten. Dogs."
To Hibari, they were already finished. The match hadn't started, but their names were on his list. All that was left was execution.
As he stretched for kickoff, a member of the opposing team walked up to him.
"Hey man! I hear you're the star player of Kagesaki Tech!" The upbeat striker called out to him.
"Sure? Whats it to ya?" Hibari simply replied.
He held out his hand, "Lets have a good match!"
Hibari took a few steps toward him ignoring his invitation for a handshake, met his gaze, and pointed towards his own net.
"I guarantee that your team will not see a single shot touch that net."
Hibari wasn't saying that because he had faith in his goalkeeper.
With that, he walked to his position at midfield and waited for kickoff.
The referee flipped a coin to decide who began kickoff, Hibari called heads and he flipped the coin. The bright sun cast glare on the silver coin as it spun before being caught and flipped onto the referees wrist.
It was heads.
His teammate stepped forward, took first touch, and passed to Hibari.
Hibari gives the field in front of him a once over, decides on his route and he's off, he sets off down the right sideline.
A defender tries to press his angle, Hibari moves past him to limit his vision of the ball and slows down. The defender questions his decision and goes for the ball; Hibari uses his own body to limit information to the defender. He kicks the ball under his foot and kicks it above both their heads as he spins around the defender to get back to the ball.
Hibari breaks into a direct sprint towards the goal, as it stood right now he was about 35 yards out from the goal.
He could shoot, but Hibari wanted to have a bit more fun first. The defender in front of him was the player who approached him before the match.
Somebody who approached him as if he stood on equal ground, he would make him regret his folly.
The defender planted his feet, ready to close the distance.
Hibari approached at a steady pace, then raised two fingers toward him. A simple gesture.
"Let's dance."
His dribbling was calm and tight. No wasted movement. No flare. He shifted his weight just enough to keep the defender guessing, touching the ball from side to side with short, deliberate steps.
He gave a slight push forward.
The defender lunged.
Hibari killed the ball with the sole of his foot, dragged it back, and popped it up. It floated just over their heads. Hibari spun around, collected the ball, and kept moving.
He was now fifteen yards from goal.
The same defender rushed in again.
Hibari gave a faint lean left. The defender bit and turned.
The ball was already between his legs.
As the defender tried to recover, Hibari reached through, pulled the ball back, and used it to block off the defender's left step. The defender stumbled over his own feet and hit the ground.
Hibari stepped around him, adjusted the ball, and faced the goal.
Hibari geared up for a shot 15 yards out, his foot winded back and impacted the ball. The ball lasered into the top left corner of the goal, the goalie barely having time to even get close to grazing it.
Truthfully, Hibari expected more resistance from their defense, but when he was up against a bunch of athletes playing pretend, that was his mistake.
The rest of the game didn't offer much in the way of a challenge, Hibari pulled himself after scoring a hat trick cause he got bored.
The other team never did end up scoring, but Hibari forgot about what he said about the start of the match. He didn't bother staying for post-match pleasantries or to celebrate with his team, frankly something beneath him.
Hibari's team most likely wouldn't enjoy the celebration if he was there, but he didn't care if they did or didn't
He arrived home, ready to unwind and eat dinner.
"Hey hun, how'd the match go!?" Hibari's mother said from the kitchen while preparing dinner.
"We're going to Nationals, other team was barely even a varsity level team. Can't believe those losers made it all the way there." Hibari said in a mocking tone.
"Oh honey thats great! I'm sure the other team tried there best but you should be nice all the same!"
It was just him and his mother, his father became a deep alcoholic shortly after he was born and started gambling. He ended up committing suicide on Hibari's 8th birthday, his father was abusive towards his mother and him aswell. He came to his senses on just how much he had hurt his own family when Hibari was 7, and after that he fell into a chronic depression. On December 4th, his father jumped in front of a moving train.
"I'm going to my room, let me know when dinner is ready."
"Oh before you go, there's a letter addressed to you, from the...let me see here. Japan. Football Union?" Hibari's mother read from the card, she knew nothing about football so she had no idea what it was about.
"A letter? Who the hell writes letters anymore?" Hibari took the letter in his hand and tore the paper open and pulled out a paper with little information on it.
His eyes slowly scanned the paper,
"Hibari Yakushiji,
You have been selected for a special player training program.
After a rigorous selection process by the JFU, you have been selected to become a certified athlete.
We would like to extend an invitation to you on a meeting about a new development project to be held on November 18 at 4:00 PM.
If you wish to participate, sign the enclosed participation pledge and come to the JFU Headquarters Building at the listed date and time.
-Anri Teieri, Representative of JFU New Projects"
"I'm not sure what any of that means dear, but it sure sounds like you're moving up in the world!" She said to him.
"Maybe, no idea who this Teieri person is, I've never heard of them." Hibari was familiar with the JFU but for them to take interest in him was intriguing.
"Are you going to go Hibari?"
He gave the letter one more look, "Seems official enough I guess, so yea."
He took a pen and signed his name on the pledge, confirming his participation.
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The Next Day
Hibari followed the guide to get to the JFU Headquarters, he walked around for a bit trying to spot the building. He had just come from school so he was wearing his uniform for Kagesaki Tech.
He wore a crisp white dress shirt under a dark navy blazer marked with the school crest. His tie was light blue, matching the trim on his black slacks. Everything was sharp, pressed, and clean, just the way he liked it.
Eventual he spotted the building, it held gates around the outer rim of the property, but other than that the building didn't really stand out. The column next to the entrance read "JAPAN FOOTBALL UNION" so it was hard to miss.
He approached the automatic sliding doors and they opened for him, Hibari took a few steps inside as the warmth enveloped him. A nice contrast to the cold outside; his shoes sunk into the soft carpet floor as he walked inside.
Hibari looked inside as for where he was supposed to go as no directions were given once he reached the building.
The wooden double doors in front of him were his best bet so he approached and pushed them open to reveal a packed auditorium.
He wasn't expecting what he saw next.
Strikers. Japan's finest by the looks of it. All his age, he was familiar with a select few like Shoei Baro, Ishikari, Nishioka, and a few others.
"Looks like I wasn't the only one selected for this program." He said under his breath while cracking his neck.
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A/N: Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter lemme know what you think and if theres anything I can improve!
Ussyliss out