The locker room was filled with damp socks and silence
No cheering
No celebration
Just heavy breathing and the occasional cough
It was weird winning like that
Not by dominating or outmuscling the enemy
But by confusing them into collapse
Aoi stared at Amano who was tying his shoes slowly
"You…knew they'd fall for that pass"
Amano shrugged
"I didn't know. I made it happen"
The lanky boy blinked
"Bro I literally tripped by accident though"
Amano nodded
"That's what made it perfect"
The coach Hibiki walked in with a sandwich half-eaten and a paper bag full of chocolate milk cartons
"Alright weirdos. Sit. Time for post-match brain damage"
They sat
Hibiki pulled out a marker and began scribbling insane diagrams on the board
No one understood it
Except Amano who tilted his head
"This looks like a failed chessboard and a spaghetti map had a baby"
Hibiki grinned
"Exactly. That's our formation next week"
Everyone stared in horror
Amano stood up
"It'll work"
"…HOW?!"
He didn't answer
---
Later that evening
In a small apartment above a closed ramen shop
Amano sat cross-legged watching old matches on a cracked TV
The screen flickered constantly but his eyes were locked in
He wasn't watching the ball
He was watching the shadows
The players who weren't moving
The ones left out of the camera frame
He rewound again and again
Mumbling
"They missed him. The entire match. He was free every time"
His sister peeked in through the door
"Kei you still awake? It's almost two"
"Yeah"
"…You won?"
"Yeah"
"…You hungry?"
"Maybe"
She came back five minutes later with cold rice balls and a boiled egg
He ate in silence while still staring at the match
Then finally
He said
"Not all monsters roar"
His sister looked at him weird
"You need sleep bro. That rice ball's not even in your mouth"
He looked down and realized he had bitten the paper wrap
"Ah"
He finally smiled
The next monster
Wouldn't roar either
But when it moved
The whole stadium would feel it in their bones