The black and red jerseys of the Serpents swarm the tower once more...
"Serpents are on the tower yet again! Taking advantage of the numbers in that skirmish, they're looking to shrink the lead that was created by Special Forces."
A coat of gold plastered all over the turf with the sight of the jingling tower occupied by the Serpents traversing across with their full squad on deck, they watch carefully for any enemy movements. Having managed to reclaim the tower by exploiting the number advantage they had on Special Forces in that moment, they all do their best to avoid the score displayed overhead-for one quick glance would kill any motivation they garnered after the successful takeover. What started off as a successful start in the first round of turf war by the Serpents, they quickly lost their momentum in the second round of Last One Standing where Special Forces roared to life and ended the round in convincing fashion with a sweeping 5-0 victory. In the third round of Splat Zones, the starting unit of the Special Forces flexed their true strength with Gibbs, Tung, Sunny, Camilla, and Rina all stepping up huge to anchor the team in a knockout victory. Notably, Jin was quiet the whole match and was a practical non factor, but after the third round knockout by the collective efforts of Special Forces, Jin showed his worth in this fourth round Tower Control. What was meant to be a battle between the two competitive teams, it looked less of that and looked more like Special Forces were competing with themselves. Literally. Even though they were leading big in the fourth, chemistry wasn't the best indicator of that lead, or rather, didn't exist at all for Special Forces. The rest of the Special Forces players operated out of sync with Jin as though he weren't even their captain and instead relied on their own strengths and personal relationships to carry them rather than follow the captain's orders-a blatant show of contempt for the leader, Jin took it in stride and answered by dominating the round all on his own.
"Here he comes! Hero Jin to the rescue of the Special Forces!" the commentator announces, noting a speeding gold inkling on a collision course with the tower ahead; The Serpents looked agitated by the presence, a telling sign that they weren't too thrilled about his appearance after how badly he pummeled them throughout the round.
Jin looked focused. Not a hint of vengeance present. It was clear as day that he was already in a foul mood after the insubordination showed earlier, but now that it was being captured live on television for the whole world to see made him even more bent about the status of his team. He didn't want any distractions from the in-house problems leaking into the public, but his stubborn cast were hellbent on disrupting the rhythm he was attempting to create. Doing a hop and skip out of the gold puddle and into the fray he immediately takes down a pair and forces the other pair off the tower in a panic, bringing the tower to a screeching halt to preserve the lead. The stadium goes wild in response, enjoying the return to prime form from the one they revered as the Hero of Inkopolis and the best threat representing Inkopolis to the top trio. A selfish and reckless action that paid off, shortly followed were the rest of Special Forces to overwhelm the Serpents and put them back on the defensive-crushing their hopes to even the series. An inevitable knockout, Special Forces took a commanding 3-1 lead heading into the fifth round of Hide Ink Seek.
Cannola's mouth dropped in disbelief, "Whoa…"
"Well then…" Phillip rubbed his neck, equally surprised.
"Maybe it's because I got ahead a little ahead of myself after seeing how great we were doing lately, but does it look like they've gotten way better than I last remembered?" Dustin scratches head with some slight confusion at the current score, but Corey assured him his eyes weren't deceiving him.
It was supposed to be a thrilling battle between two heavyweights in the top 25 but right now it looked like a massacre. The Serpents never caught themselves after dropping that second round, only digging themselves in a deeper hole and becoming the unfortunate victims caught in the crossfire of a civil war of Special Forces. Now the match looked all but over and with this dominant performance recorded for the others it served as a harsh reminder of reality: Squid Academy couldn't get ahead of themselves for even a slither of a second. This performance by a clearly dysfunctional team showed that even with internal strife taking place, that team still possessed winner DNA and knew how to snatch and secure victory under any circumstances.
"We knew Special Forces were good but we never accounted for the fact that the team we faced before wasn't their true strength. It was rumored that they possessed much stronger talent that they kept hidden away but I never expected them to be this overwhelming." Ollie remarked, transferring their gaze between the two teams formulating a perspective of how each will approach the fifth round.
Chlora came to a stunning realization, "Looks like that rumor was true after all. They really were withholding their best talent and training them for Nationals. They really did send in their reserves to play all those big games."
"And the fact that Jin and those first years didn't keep up the streak of dominating the competition could be what led to this strife-no, it might've been going on long before that and that was just the catalyst."
"Regardless, it can't be overlooked that Special Forces are a formidable opponent, which goes to say that Skolar will be even more troublesome."
Their conversation interrupted by the wave of cheers and excitement pouring in for the start of the fifth round, they all sit anxiously to watch how it'd all end. If this would be all that the Serpents managed or if they could somehow gather their wits and create a spark to keep the match alive. A surprising turn of events, they saw that Jin's reliable trio he'd fought with were finally making their appearance in the match as substitutes for some of the seniors who looked unhappy with being substituted. A message from the coaching staff to Jin, they were making it known they expected to see him and the juniors he'd work with the entire year close it out or else it'd be telling that some drastic changes were going to take place. If that wasn't enough pressure, 18 and 12's cousins-two major factors on the team- were on the floor as well; If those two first years couldn't keep up, they might as well not even be on the team. That was the harsh attitude the true starters of Special Forces carried, and the primary reason why Jin had been the way he was.
"He stood at the top of a school full of dauntless personalities so it makes sense he'd be larger than life. But the captain I'm seeing before me looks far different from the one I know." Siot wrinkled his face with contempt, disappointed by how dull the fangs of Jin Ika had become; "He's turned into some damn mentor instead of a slayer."
"-But that isn't such a bad thing…" Zepp remarked, watching the game with the others sans Kippy, who still was sleeping back at the hotel. "Jin was a guy who moved to the beat of his own drum-he could afford to do that since he proved he was head and shoulders above the rest. No one could question his talent and leadership. But this year felt different. He was challenged by a girl from a fallen school, his little brother who'd spent all his life behind his shadow finally stepped into the spotlight, and lastly, new bloods showed up to make his life harder. Like a perfect storm, Jin was humiliated and brought back down to earth. The bright and heroic persona he'd spent all that time creating and perfecting got shattered and exposed the ugliness in his heart. A shame to say but he didn't live up to his name anymore. But I think that was the best thing to happen."
"I don't like him and his views but I'll admit that it's hard to not want to support this whole 'new leaf' approach of his. Even the look in his eyes is softer from the one I recalled seeing before. He must've gone through his own share of trials this past year."
"And I think that's why they'll win this match." Zepp smiled, observing the junior trio of Kary, 18, and 12. "Those three have been charmed by him. They truly believe in him and trust him. As long as he has them, he'll be fine."
And thus, the fifth round began.
Special Forces moved with the same energy as the previous rounds with an especial boost from Jin's trio who were determined to play their best for their captain and prove to the others that his efforts spent building them into the future of Special Forces wasn't a waste. The Serpents approached the round of Hide Ink Seek with caution and care since they were the Hiders they tasked themselves with a patience to protect their target player first and score points later. For a while it seemed to work in favor of the Serpents: Special Forces looked out of sync with 24 and 79 operating differently from Jin and the junior trio, the chemistry clearly not meshing and opening up plenty of holes in their attack that allowed the Serpents to pick apart at their defenses for a counterattack. Slow scoring and starting to become a bit of a nailbiter with how closely the scores remained, the whispers of doubts began to grow as Jin looked like he didn't have that same vigor as before. Although he showed some flashes previously, it all looks gone now that his juniors were in the picture once more.
"Could they be the problem?"
"He hasn't been the same since those first years entered the picture."
"Think he's gone soft trying to teach them instead of focusing on his craft?"
The questions were running rampant and it was becoming an undeniable truth, hurting the morale of the trio. Even when they were fighting their hardest out there for their captain, it still didn't appear to be enough to quell the noise. The watchful gazes of their seniors waiting for them to make the move that'll ascend them to a respectable level, it was becoming clear as day that the team was willingly sabotaging themselves to send a message to Jin about how they felt.
How frustrating.
The trio thought, realizing that the result wasn't a problem at all-they wouldn't lose. But it was the quality. If they couldn't close it out here it'd look really bad on Jin's account. And clearly many preferred to put on an unsatisfactory performance to create a rift than coexist for the sake of a common goal. An ugly mindset that they'd already seen get washed away once before by the very same man who now became a target.
"Ignore the noise. Don't pay attention to the distractions." Jin stated calmly, rushing ahead of the others with his cold gaze locked on the target player of the hiders; "I'm still the captain…"
A sparkle of gold in the spotlight, Jin hit the mark and threw the battle into disarray with his deadly accuracy. The thin confidence of the Serpents evaporating immediately, Jin's attack created the ultimate opening for his team-The junior trio recognized that immediately thanks to spending so much time playing with him; they knew him better than the rest of the starters, that much was just as true. Following his lead, Special Forces quickly did away with the futile efforts of the Serpents and secured their spot in the Round of 16, a warm praise given to them for their emphatic statement in that closing fifth round. The team celebrated separately with Jin enjoying the win with his juniors while the starters and the rest of the team stuck together, it was clear the rift only grew stronger. An intention to break their spirits and manipulate them into submission, the plan to have Jin relinquish his role as captain backfired as instead he strengthened his resolve and toughened his juniors mentally. His actions were loud and concise: If they wanted to break his resolve, they'd have to sacrifice the tournament to accomplish that petty desire because he had no intention of losing to them nor the competition. Not until he had his vengeance and proved he was still the Hero his title suggested. On the way back to the locker rooms, the tension between the two factions hadn't settled. Leers from Gibbs and the others were sent towards Jin specifically, but also at his trio of juniors who didn't back down and stood in his corner.
"Aw man, this would've been over much sooner if you weren't playing…" Gibbs instigated with a fake sigh and shrug, looking at Jin expecting a reaction out of him, but to his surprise the captain had a downcast gaze-almost in a different world entirely. In terms of a response overall, he did receive one.
"What's with unnecessary hate for Jin? We won the match anyway!" Kary responds, stepping ahead of Jin to face Gibbs; some of the players moved ahead with the coaches ignoring the obvious squabble about to ensue, but the majority of the team and the starters stayed behind to see to it what was so abhorrent about Jin Ika.
"Your captain sucks. As a personality, I mean. His skill is top notch as much as it pains me to admit." Gibbs said with a plain look as though it's a matter of fact.
Kary scoffed, "Attacking someone's character is one thing but to try and sabotage the team performance?"
"I thought we were keeping this a case of 'Don't say the quiet part too loud' but I think you first years are a little too attached to him. The reason why we're making such a statement and taking such a drastic measure is because for the last 2 years Jin's been our best and worst player. As a talent he is unmatched and we were forced to accept that and follow his lead. But this year, the choice of the coaches to split priorities saw us elevate our game preparing for Nationals whereas Jin was tasked with growing the youth throughout the season while qualifying for this tournament. As such, he deteriorated while we ascended. And now, I'd say we're on par with him." Tung said, seeing this as a perfect chance to air out the dirty laundry. "In other words, know your place and leave this to the seniors."
"Hehe, does that clear things up?" Gibbs sneered.
"Far from it." 18 said, stepping into the conversation to back up Kary; "Sounds to me like you all just have a problem with the captain being that much better than you all. The fact that he's changed for the better while still retaining his sharpness scares you. You're desperately clinging to that little ounce of power over him you somehow thought you had."
24 and 79 immediately opened their ears to listen in, a sense of agitation setting in for them with how thick the tension built between the first years and the seniors, they couldn't find a place to step in and sto the two parties from escalating their differences to something much worse.
"Hmph. These first years are a spoiled bunch like their savior."
"And our seniors are a sour bunch that'll never ripen." 12 added, also joining in to defend Jin.
"Alright that's enough out of you all!" Aurelia claps her hands to interrupt the squabble, another player peeking from behind her shadow curious about the drama.
"We just won a match so no fighting, okay?" Sunny beamed, oblivious to the animosity between the two sides.
Unable to stay serious when Sunny had that gleeful expression, Tung, Gibbs, and the other seniors who'd stayed behind to gang up on Jin all left with Aurelia and Sunny to join up with the rest of the team while 24 and 79 stayed behind to speak with Jin and his trio. 18 and 12 stepped in front to shield Kary and Jin from the two seniors and brace for whatever they had to say but instead...
"We're both sorry!" 24 apologized bowing her head along with 79, who was also remorseful. The empty gaze worn by Jin disappeared once he heard the familiar voices and soon a tired sigh escaped his lips.
"Rina, Taro, raise your heads already. You're embarrassing us." 18 spoke in an almost annoyed tone.
"Can you not try to kiss up to us after what the others did?" 12 added.
Rina-known as 24 on the team-raised her head with a big smile letting out a little giggle, happy to see she earned their acceptance. "I didn't want our relationship to worsen because of the team politics happening. It's a long and layered history between us all that you shouldn't have to concern yourselves with. Right, Jin?"
His expression back to normal, Jin's icy glare locked on the fellow third year, "In all honesty, I don't care. I don't care about how you all think or feel about me. My only concern is making sure this team gets to the final. That's my duty as captain and I'm sticking to it."
"Our actions were in poor taste and it was wrong to put you all in that position. Jin, we just want to apologize for disrupting what you and the other were building. As you can tell, those were commands from the others that we were pressured to carry out." Taro said with his palms open to emphasize that there was something else he wanted to convey.
"If you think a cheap apology will ease your conscience then by all means. But next time, don't drag them into this mess." He warned, referencing his juniors. Rina and Taro could tell as much that although he was a lot tamer now compared to before when he was hot headed, the ugliness was still there deep down. He just found something worth protecting unlike before.
"Although we acted on their commands, we also have our reasons for being tough on them."
"Taro's right. As you know, Eijun and Seni are family. We wanted to make sure they're ready for what comes ahead as starters, to simulate what some of these battles will feel like. After all, playing on this team is unlike any other."
"Then convey it with words, instead. This isn't some battle comic. Our generation should be the last to carry that old culture. I refuse to let it continue when there's a chance for change. Anyways, I'm going on ahead."
Proud, self-conceited, and full of animosity. This is what the Special Forces had become, or perhaps were always. A team molded by competition and perfection. A team willing to climb over one another for the sake of achieving a perfect team. And now, a team that will appear in the Round of 16.
