Round of 16: Because I Can

"Yūrei..." Inari exclaimed.

"Yūrei?!" Despite not being a great Shinto believer, Takashi had heard countless legends and stories about them.

"Souls who couldn't find peace after tragically dying. It's not surprising she's sending them against you."

That description only increased Takashi's fear, making him come to a terrible realization.

"Is Nao... a yūrei?"

"Not yet. Since she still had her soul with me thanks to the bond, she was able to enter the new contract while still alive. We have to rescue her before we all become yūrei."

"So, if the shadows catch us..."

He couldn't finish his thought before Inari headbutted his temple and jumped off his shoulder. She then repeated the motion on his leg, pushing him forward. "Come on, come on, focus on what's important."

Takashi observed them. They didn't have feet; they were just ominously floating, fixing their dark gaze on them with only a football in between, some meters away from where he stood.

"Now go."

"Where?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Inari seemed nonchalant about the situation. "There's a ball and eleven yūrei. You have to score a goal."

"What?!" Takashi would have laughed if he weren't in a life-or-death situation. He could barely shoot on goal, and Inari wanted him to pass eleven rival specters as if he were a European team's number 10.

"Trust me, it's easier than it looks. Just go."

Takashi looked at the yūrei, feeling his soul penetrated by their existence.

Nao.

He furrowed his brow, forgetting everything else before running without thinking twice.

"Let's go!"

He touched the ball and advanced toward the first yūrei, with more willpower than physical or technical ability, until he stood in front of the figure.

You're going to fail.

You won't save her.

You're worthless.

"Ah!"

Takashi fell to the ground, partially going through the yūrei as he felt his mind pushing him down. Surrounded by a bitter feeling, he grabbed the ball with his hands and ran back again, not wanting to look backward at all.

"Inari! These things..." His distressed voice revealed the impact of the fright.

"Yūrei are beings that project their worries and mistakes onto people while they're in their healing process, before being able to rest for eternity. They'll try to trap you by reflecting your fears with theirs."

Slowly, the yūrei formation advanced like a very slow, high-pressing team.

"And what happens if they catch me?"

"You will become a yūrei along with Nao, and my soul will be trapped in the Underworld forever."

Takashi whimpered in fear, although he already knew that would happen. "So you would truly suffer the same fate."

"Of course not; I'm Inari. I'd be punished much worse."

Wide-eyed and unsure how to react to a comment as light as it was fatal when they could die at any moment, Takashi watched the figures in terror.

"You should know you worry too much by now," Inari continued. "I can't help you any more; I don't have any powers. But this is a world that represents your fears, not makes them real. When you realize that, you'll finally be able to move forward. If you overcome your fears, they won't want to come near you."

Takashi looked at the yūrei again, the closest ones just a few meters away.

"And also...” Nao gently placed her hand on Takashi's heart before the last match. "That you'll find the solution here. You can do it, Takashi."

"Let's go!"

Takashi kicked the ball forward with all his might, but it went far over the first yūrei.

You failed again.

"No!"

"You can do it, Takashi."

Takashi didn't collide with the yūrei; instead, he went through it, to his total surprise.

"How..."

"If you overcome your fears, they won't want to come near you."

And there, Takashi understood Inari’s words. "So they truly aren't real."

His ears filled with shrills and chilling voices as the yūrei started running towards him, quickly shortening any distance. All his fears were coming for him.

He inhaled and exhaled, and the stream carried everything away. "Come at me!"

Takashi took the ball again, clumsily and rapidly heading towards the right wing under rival pressure, grateful for wearing comfortable clothes. Three yūrei surrounded him.

The one in front of him confronted him.

Do you think you can get out of here?

"I believe in you." Jun looked at him decisively, smiling with his natural charm. “And this dumbass here does, too.”

The ball passed through the specter as if it had been nutmegged. The rest of the rivals started moving faster.

You're all alone. Another yūrei tried to cut off his advance by sliding into the ground to tackle him using blurred legs.

"Because we know how you feel too," Kenjiro had told him. Takashi jumped, leaving him behind.

Only the defenders remained, and he slowly started to create the gap. One here and the other there, the yūrei were piled up in his path. Takashi moved with anything but elegance and precision, but his bravery was more than enough. He sprinted to the right and, like a genius of world football, entered the penalty area from the front on that same side. He was now face-to-face with the goal, charging with determination.

"I think I can do it. Because, of course, I can do it."

The goalkeeper, a yūrei dressed in grayish tones, lunged towards him to block the shot.

You are missing again.

He failed, as Takashi simply sidestepped him to his right. Soon, the goalkeeper was overrun by the pile of players chasing the dreamer boy, one of whom dived in for a hard kick, gathering all of his teammates’ strength.

"Your life is a failure," was all Takashi could hear.

"And I'll do it to save Nao!"

With pain channeled into drive, he stretched to the point of losing balance to lightly touch the ball, which slowly entered the goal.

Takashi groaned as he rolled on the ground. All the shouting had been replaced by the thunderous sound of changing scenes. As he raised his head, he noticed the yūrei were no longer there, leaving only him, Inari, and one more person. A girl leaning against a metal railing, just three steps away. His Nao. He knew he had entered another memory.

"You've passed Izanami's first trial," Inari said, after trotting until reaching his side. "Congratulations, Takashi. Now, let me tell you what happened once, during the Festival of Obon."