The day of Raimon's match had finally arrived, with Endou deciding early on to play with the formation 4-4-2, and Shinichi decided that Handa should play in his place while he will remain as a substitute player with Megane (who now wears the number 19), who Shinichi doubted will even participate in this match.
And now the team, with Aki, Ran, and Natsumi, stood waiting for the Occult team to arrive.
"This is weird, shouldn't the Occult team already be here?", Matsuno wondered.
"Maybe they got lost.", Shourin shrugged.
"Um... anyone noticed how the atmosphere suddenly became... dark?", Kurimatsu asked worriedly.
"Yeah... I'm getting scared.", Kabeyama said in fear.
"No, isn't it always like that?", Kageno asked gloomily.
"For you.", Handa deadpanned.
"Maybe they ran away because they heard I was on the team!", Megane boasted as he adjusted his glasses, causing every single Raimon player to side-eye him.
"If I had just half of your confidence, I'd be the number one player in the universe, not the world.", Someoka snorted.
"I see someone approaching from the fog.", Kazemaru noticed.
And the eleven players of the Occult team walked out of the fog with their coach leading them.
"You must be Occult's coach, Jikiru Haito!", Endou approached him with a wide friendly smile before he raised his hand for the coach to shake, "Pleased to meet you, I'm Endou Mamoru, Raimon's Captain!".
The coach smiled with a suspicious grin that made Shinichi raise an eyebrow. He crossed his arms before he replied, "Yes, yes... I know. Let's just start this match.".
Endou frowned before he lowered his hand, disliking the man's attitude.
"LADIES & GENTLEMEN! NOW'S THE TIME FOR RAIMON'S SECOND MATCH & THE ONE THAT WILL DECIDE RAIMON SOCCER CLUB'S FATE!", Kakuma cried as he appeared out of nowhere, holding the commentator table.
His sudden outburst made Aki and Natsumi nearly scream and hug each other while Ran eyed him in surprise and bewilderment.
"I've got a weird feeling about this... Not a bad evil, but a bad trick or something like that...", Shinichi mumbled to himself.
Raimon stood in the 4-4-2 formation as the last match while the Occult team stood in the following formation; 4-5-1.
GK: Nata Juuzou (1)
DF: Sanzu Wataru (2), Yanagida Shigeru (3), Furan Ken (4), Shikabane Fujimi (5)
MF: Reigen Michihisa (6), Kinoi Mami (7), Yatsuhaku Tataru (8), Tsukimaru Kenichi (10), Burado Kiba (11)
FW: Yuukoku Hiroyuki (9/Captain)
And the match began with the ball with Raimon.
Gouenji passed the ball to Someoka who passed it to Kazemaru.
"Someoka decides to pass the ball far to Kazemaru! What is he planning?", Kakeru cried as Kazemaru ran across the field.
Yuukoku performed a slide but Kazemaru dribbled sideways before he kicked the ball high, "Handa!".
Handa received the ball on his chest before passing it instantly, "Someoka!".
The ball passed all the midfielders and reached Someoka who stood across the defenders.
"Dragon Crash!", He performed his Hissatsu and kicked it towards the Goalkeeper, who barely even had time to comprehend it.
"GOAL! Someoka earns Raimon the first goal with his new Hissatsu; Dragon Crash!", Kakeru announced.
Jikiru merely flinched but did nothing as he crossed his arms.
The referee whistled as the ball was now with Occult. Yuukoku passed the ball to Tsukimaru before he sprinted forwards passing the forwards and midfielders of Raimon.
Tsukimaru then passed the ball to Burado who sprinted forward.
"Not so fast!", Shourin cried as he tackled Burado, taking the ball from him before he passed it again to Someoka, who had now stood across the defenders again.
"Dragon Crash!", Someoka used his Hissatsu technique again and scored the second goal for Raimon.
"GOAL! RAIMON SCORED AGAIN! PUTTING THEM FURTHER IN LEAD!", Kakeru cried.
"Alright!", Someoka pumped up his fist.
"That's it...", Jikiru mumbled before his face had a gray cross appear on it.
The referee whistled again with the ball with Occult. Yuukoku passed the ball to Tsukimaru before he started moving his hands slowly in a circle then shot his right hand forward, creating a dark purple sphere as he cried, "Ghost Lock!".
"Ma re ma re ma re, to ma re.", Jikiru chanted multiple times in a low voice.
Suddenly, all of Raimon's players, including Endou, had a purple cloud around their legs, and were paralyzed.
"What the?!", Shishido cried in worry.
Suddenly, Tsukimaru passed the ball back to Yuukoku, who easily sprinted past all players, followed the midfielders of his team.
"What the... what's going on?", Aki asked in disbelief while Natsumi silently frowned.
'Don't tell me the rumors about them using magic is real...', She thought in worry.
"Did they use some spell or something? That man is chanting something.", Megane nodded towards the coach.
Yuukoku turned around himself as the ball rose in white energy with purple outline before kicking it, "Phantom Shoot!", and the ball charged towards Endou, who couldn't move to stop the ball, and it went past him.
And at that moment, the Raimon players were freed from their paralysis.
"G-Goal! Occult scores their first goal! Somehow paralyzing the Raimon players.", Kakeru commented in disbelief.
Shinichi narrowed his eyes in suspicion and eyed the match as he sat on the bench, his hands forming a pyramid with his fingers, resting at his mouth.
"Come on! Guys! The match isn't over! Don't give up!", Endou cheered his teammates up just as the referee whistled, and Someoka kicked the ball to Goeunji who ran ahead, and once he saw five players charging towards him, he passed it to Someoka.
Someoka found himself nearing the goal and the goalkeepr gestured his hands around in a circle, creating a transparent, dark purple orb in front of him.
"Someoka!", Gouenji called for Someoka but he glared at him before he sprinted further, surprising Gouenji.
"Dragon Crash!", Someoka used his Hissatsu and kicked the ball.
"Yugamu Kuukan (Warped Space)!", Juuzou cried.
As the ball headed towards Juuzou, the orb drawed the ball in, making him nonchalantly catch the ball in his hands, shocking everything.
"M-My Dragon Crash!", Someoka's eyes widened in disbelief before he cursed.
Juuzou then kicked the ball and Yuukoku received it on his chest.
"Ma re ma re mare, to ma re!", Yuukoku chanted with Jikiru as he moved his arms before using the Hissatsu technique, "Ghost Lock!".
And again, the Raimon players were paralyzed, with Yuukoku dashing towards the goal.
"Phantom Shoot!", and Yuukoku scored the second goal, and the Raimon players were freed again.
And unfortunately, The same thing happened again; Someoka tried to score, his shot was stopped, The Occult team did the same Hissatsu technique again, and they now scored the third goal.
The scoreboard now showed 2-3, Raimon against Occult.
"If... if that is a magic spell...", Ran gulped before shaking her head, gathering her courage to ignore her fear of the paranormal, "Shouldn't it last for a longer time? And be removed by the user? Why does it stop when they score?".
Shinichi looked at Ran for a long time making her look at him confused, "Shinichi, what's wrong?".
The referee whistled, signaling the end of the first match just as a smile spread on Shinichi's face, and Ran knew that face at once.
Shinichi had figured out the trick.
Unknown to them, standing next to a tree were Genda, Tatsuya, Kidou, and Sakuma, watching the match.
"Huh, Raimon's in big trouble now.", Genda snorted with a raised eyebrow, "Not so tough.".
"Occult are doing something, this isn't a Hissatsu technique.", Tatsuya claimed making Sakuma raise an eyebrow.
"Why are you so sure about that?", Sakuma asked.
Tatsuya nodded at Shinichi, "See that look on his face? That's Shinichi's face when he figures out the trick that the murderer used and had everyone else fooled. Something is going on.".
Kidou said nothing but wondered mentally, 'Let's see what you'll do then, Meitantei.'.
The Raimon players with Aki, Ran, and Natsumi gathered in the soccer club, for the 15 minutes break between the halves.
"We just had to face a team using magic, didn't we?", Kageno said gloomily.
"I'm surprised you were affected by them, shouldn't you be invulnerable since...", Kurimatsu trailed off fearfully once he saw the dark aura around Kageno.
"What do you mean?".
"N-N-Nothing...".
"They had us all fooled.", Shinichi said with his hands in his pockets, a smirk on his face, "It's not a magic trick.".
"You sound so sure.", Gouenji pointed out.
"Don't interrupt him now, he has entered his Detective mode.", Ran placed a finger on her lips with a smile.
"Let's analyze what happened. We were scoring and playing normally without anything until The Captain used ghost lock while he and the coach chanted the same thing," Shinichi started explained, "Ma re ma re ma re, to ma re... Notice anything?".
"To ma re... Tomare (Stop)!", Endou realized, "He was saying stop all along!".
"It was no chant, it was just him using the word stop.", Shinichi nodded.
"Then how did he paralyze us?", Kabeyama asked confused.
"They came here with a dark attitude and aura, giving us the feeling that they were like that. And with saying stop like a chant, and using their hands as an illusion, they confused us and made us either paralyzed, or shoot a weaker shot. It's all a mind trick, to make it simple.", Shinichi finished the deduction show.
Everyone looked at him in awe before Megane mumbled, "I was gonna say the same thing!".
The Raimon Players, but Gouenji, cried at him, "No, you weren't!".
"And now on to the next problem. Someoka, why aren't you passing the ball Gouenji?", Shinichi asked Someoka with a frown.
"He left us after the first match and arrived late to training, what makes us sure he's loyal to the team?", Someoka argued stubbornly with his arms crossed, "I'm the true striker here.".
"Are you jealous of him?", Shinichi asked with a raised eyebrow making Gouenji surprised and Someoka snarl.
"This isn't martial arts...", Ran spoke up, bringing the attention to her, "Nor Tennis, nor Badminton, nor Ping Pong, nor any single player games.".
"This is soccer, and the main idea of winning in soccer is team work. How many great teams lost their matches because every player wanted to score himself or have his spotlight selfishly? And how many low teams won because they all worked together?", Ran asked.
"I couldn't have said it better, Ran. Soccer is about fun, fun with friends, and everyone is equal, yet different in their own way.", Endou added his voice to Ran's words with a wide smile.
"I never saw myself as better than you, Someoka. You were always facing the defenders and I wanted to make it easier for you by dribbling past them and pass it back to you if you wanted to score.", Gouenji explained.
Someoka stared at his feet, feeling stupid for his jealousy and his antics, but said nothing.
"Now, you can score with Dragon crash and-".
"No.", Someoka interrupted Endou, surprising him.
"Dragon Crash isn't that strong yet, the goalkeeper easily blocked it with his Hissatsu.", Someoka explained.
"And he might already be prepared for Gouenji's Fire Tornado, actually, maybe all of our current Hissatsu! Or why else did they paralyze you?", Aki pointed out.
The team remained silent, thinking of options and Natsumi wondered solemnly, 'Did I put my trust in the wrong people?'.
"Endou,", Shinichi spoke up, "You got Nekketsu Punch mastered?".
Endou nodded with a wide smile raising his clenched right fist, "It's ready!".
Shinichi smiled, "They'll be expecting Heavens' Hand, so let's surprise them with Nekketsu Punch.".
"Well, they'll start the kickoff this time, so we got the goal covered, but what about the scoring? We need two goals to save the soccer club and enter the Football Frontier.", Kazemaru pointed out.
Shinichi smile changed into a confident smirk, "The Midfielders and Defenders, I want Occult to try to score from the kickoff so we can shock them, but after that one time, I don't want them to reach Endou by any means.".
Shourin and Kurimatsu saluted, "Ay Ay, Meitantei!".
"Hey Handa, you don't mind I substitute you?", Shinichi asked politely.
"I was gonna tell you to take my place after that deduction if you didn't ask.", Handa nodded with a smile before he and Shinichi fist bumped.
"Let's go, the break is over.", Endou said as he left the club, followed by the girls and Megane, then the players, but Shinichi pulled Someoka and Gouenji back.
"Hey guys... I've got an idea.", He said as he explained something to them quickly, before the three left the soccer club, a wide confident smile on their faces.
"They seem more confident now.", Sakuma noted as he watched Raimon's players stand in their formation on the opposite side of the field, a confident smile on their faces.
"Now, the real match begins.", Tatsuya smirked once he saw Shinichi standing in Handa's place.
"I agree.", Kidou smirked once he saw Shinichi too.
"I hope so, this match was interesting until Occult scored.", Genda yawned lazily.
The kickoff started with Yuukoku kicking the ball to Tsukimaru, before he used the same chant with Jikiru, "Ghost Lock!".
The same dark cloud appeared around the players' feet, but they remained calm as Yuukoku sprinted past all the players.
"Ma re ma re ma re to ma re!", Jikiru chanted louder just as Endou took a deep breath.
"BOOM!", He cried out loud, stopping Jikiru from his chant in surprise, and the dark clouds disappeared, just as Yuukoku started performing his Hissatsu shot.
"Phantom Shoot!", He cried as he shor the ball at the left corner.
Mamoru easily dived sideways before he raised his right fist, now glowing yellow with red outline and punched the ball as he cried, "Nekketsu (Hot-Blooded) Punch!".
The Occult's players' eyes widened as Endou punched the ball high and away, and Shishido received on his chest before he passed it to Shinichi who was running ahead.
"ENDOU MANAGED TO BLOCK OCCULT'S SHOT! AND RAIMON SOMEHOW MANAGED TO BREAK THE SPELL!", Kakeru cried happily.
Shinichi easily dribbled past the five midfielders who'd tried to surround him, surprising them.
"Ohhhh! And now Kudou managed to dribble all five midfielders by himself without a Hissatsu! What an incredible talent!", Kakeru cried.
'Not bad.', Kidou thought.
"Someoka!", Shinichi cried as he passed the ball to Someoka.
"Dragon...", Someoka trailed off as he kicked the ball using his Hissatsu technique, just as Juuzou started spinning his hands around slowly.
And suddenly, Someoka's shot went upwards, the ball flying high, shocking everyone but Shinichi.
Gouenji then jumped and spun around himself with a fire tornado around him before kicking the ball, the blue dragon now becoming flame orange as with the color of the shot as he finished, "... Tornado!".
And the fire dragon charged down towards Juuzou.
"Yuugamu Kuukan (Warped Space)!", Juuzou used his Hissatsu, but the shot instantly passed next to him, scoring the third goal for Raimon.
Shinichi crossed his arms proudly as Gouenji landed on his feet gracefully before he went to fist bump with Someoka.
"G-GOAL! RAIMON USES THEIR FIRST 2 CO-OP HISSATSU, A FUSION BETWEEN FIRE TORNADO AND DRAGON CRASH; DRAGON TORNADO!", Kakeru commented.
"He's gonna burst my eardrums.", Ran complained.
"Yeah, and we're not standing close to him, and his mic isn't that good.", Aki agreed.
"His enthusiasm is like no other so maybe that's the reason.", Natsumi shrugged, a hopeful look back on her face, seeing Raimon had a chance.
"N-No way!", Jikiru cried in disbelief, making Shinichi look at him.
"Sorry Mr. Spooky, but that trick won't work anymore!", Shinichi said before he protruded his tongue at Jikiru, making him angry.
"Who the hell are you brat?!".
"Kudou Shinichi, Tantei-sa.", He smirked.
The kickoff started again, with the ball being passed from Yuukoku to Tsukimaru, who tried to sprint forward.
"Coming through!", Shourin cried as he tackled Tsukimaru, taking the ball from him.
"Kudou!", Shourin cried as he passed the ball to Shinichi, who received it on his chest and dribbled it, eyeing Gouenji.
And once he saw Gouenji nearing the defenders, he smirked. He let the ball fall to the ground before using his Hissatsu shot, "Eagle...".
The ball shot forward, now white with blue outline, an Eagle following behind. And just as the ball moved upwards, Gouenji jumped and spun around himself, fire around him.
He kicked the ball, changing its color and the color of the blue eagle into orange flame as he finished, "... Tornado!".
And the ball was so fast that Juuzou didn't even have the time to use Hissatsu and entered the goal.
"GOAL! RAIMON USES ANOTHER 2 CO-OP HISSATSU! THIS TIME IT'S EAGLE DRIVE WITH FIRE TORNADO; EAGLE TORNADO! RAIMON IS NOW LEADING AGAINST OCCULT 4-3!", Kakeru cried happily.
"YES!", Aki and Ran hugged each other as they cheered.
"Alright!", Handa pumped his fist into the air.
"That's my team.", Megane said proudly as he adjusted his glasses.
Natsumi smiled widely. The boys didn't let her down. They didn't give up. While Shinichi was indeed the one thinking for solutions and everything, but she looked at the boy whom she was grateful for and admired now, as he was the one who always held the teams' spirit up high no matter what; Endou Mamoru.
"2 CO-OP shots in one match.", Genda whistled in interest.
"And you want the full story? He just came up with the idea during the half time break, as he never even mentioned the idea of 2 CO-OP.", Tatsuya smiled, feeling proud of his cousin before he glanced at Kidou, "Think Eagle Tornado can compare to our shot?".
"Only a true match with Raimon will tell.", Kidou smirked.
"Well, Dragon Tornado isn't better than Twin Boost.", Sakuma shrugged.
"Guess I need to learn another Hissatsu, can't let Endou beat me.", Genda said.
Shinichi walked Gouenji and fist bumped him before doing the same with Someoka.
"Genius idea of you of us combining our shots.", Someoka complimented.
"I'm honestly considering, after seeing our shots, to have a 3 CO-OP shot of all of ours.", Shinichi said.
"You're eager to create more Hissatsu, aren't you?", Gouenji smirked.
"I'm finally getting the chance to play my favorite game with real friends, so I'll definitely spend my time creating Hissatsu ideas!", Shinichi laughed.
"And I'm in! Who said we should only have one or two or three? Why not more!", Someoka cried eagerly.
Endou watched as the three talked with a wide smile on his face, he couldn't hear what they were saying, but the genuine smile and friendship on their faces were more than enough to make him feel happy.
The kickoff had started again.
"Eagle Tornado!".
And again.
"Dragon Tornado!".
And the referee finally whistled, ending the match, with Raimon winning 6-3 against Occult.
"No...", Jikiru mumbled in disbelief before he fell on his knees.
"Come on, let's go.", Kidou said as he went to leave from the gates of the school, followed by Sakuma, Genda, and Tatsuya.
A boy with gray hair was watching the match while resting his back on the tree, "Huh... Interesting...".
He was unaware of Tatsuya stopping to stare at him for a second before he followed his friends.
Endou had the widest grin on his face as he ran towards his teammates and cried, "WE WON! THE SOCCER CLUB WON'T BE DISBANDED AND WE WILL OFFICIALLY ENTER THE FOOTBALL FRONTIER!".
The Raimon players cheered loudly with them hugging each other, the girls and Megane joining them, while others like Gouenji and Kageno just smiled.
And during all of this, Ran, with her cheeks slight blushing, kissed Shinichi on his cheek, making him blush a deep shade of red.
"I thought you said she wasn't your girlfriend.", Handa teased.
"Shut up.", Shinichi said, but there was no anger behind his tone, for why will he feel anger about being kissed by his childhood crush?
"Guys.", Endou started, bringing the attention of everyone to him.
"You guys all did well, and you, Kudou, Gouenji, and Someoka... Your shots and team work taught me something now. If one person isn't enough then you can do it if you combine the power of two people, and even better if more!", Endou said before he took a deep breath.
"What I wanna say is, we defeated Occult and entered the Football Frontier because we worked together as one. So, let's all go to the Football Frontier!", He finished the last sentence with an exclaim while pumping his fist up.
"Yeah!", The players but Gouenji cried with the same spirit, pumping their fists upward too.
Gouenji simply smiled and he looked away as he thought of his sister, 'Yuuka...'.
Unknown to everyone and hiding behind one of Raimon's building, was Fuyukai Saguru, a teacher at Raimon Middle School. He was named a coach too (as there was no one else to do so), but he never attended any training nor bothered to deal with the team.
He was covering his mouth and lowering his voice as much as he could as he spoke into the phone, "Occult Team was defeated by Raimon Middle School.".
"Raimon Middle School, huh?", Kageyama Reiji replied from where he sat in his office, before a sick evil grin appeared on his face.