FOUND ୨୧ BLUE LOCK

55 SHIDOU RYUSEI

(But perhaps you are viewing him through rose-coloured lens—your mother did always say you were far too kind and it would come back to bite you one day.)

You're suddenly met face-to-face with somebody awfully familiar. "Aiku."

He blinks. His eyes are slightly sunken, but apart from that, he doesn't look nearly as depressed as the other U-20 players. A grin stretches out across his face when he sees you tilting your head up at him to look into his heterochromatic eyes, "[name]? Nice to see you. Didn't expect you here."

Suddenly, you smile too, and your previous thoughts vanish. "Oh, well... you know... Just need to bring back Shidou before he causes any more trouble for you guys."

"Haha, really?" His eyes squint up into crescent moon shapes and you only now realise how unique, eye-catching his facial features are. He just emits an energy that makes it so easy to talk to him—like you have nothing else to worry about except him. "You're thoughtful, always thinkin' about others. I saw you during the match. Blue Lock's lucky they got such a good manager."

His flattery makes your heart skip a beat, and your hands find their way to the ends of your hair to fiddle with it. "You're too kind. I don't think I'm all that impressive. Just... my job."

He runs a hand through his shaggy black hair—you don't notice, because your gaze is focused on the ground and your eyes are squeezed shut. "Still, wish my coach was half as nice as you are. It'd be nice to have you around. Make training a lot more fun."

You aren't too sure what his words mean—but you think it's a compliment. So, you send him a smile and press your tablet closer to your chest. "If only you'd come to Blue Lock, hm?"

He pauses, swallowing thickly. "Yeah. If only." Aiku shakes his head, and his sly smile quickly returns. "Hey, I was wonderin' if I could get your number. To keep in touch. Ya know, just for... soccer stuff."

It's a pitiful excuse to get your number, but for some reason, you don't mind the fact that his excuse is lame as hell. Your heart bumps in your chest as you nod and grin and reach your hand into the pocket where your phone lies in your windbreaker jacket—

However, you're knocked forward by a force ramming into you from behind, hands slithering around your waist and pressing you tight against them. 

There's only one person in this building—even in Blue Lock, really—who would ever do something like this.

You groan, teeth clenched together hard as sneaky fingers grip into the fabric that lay over your stomach, "Shidou... let go...! Off!" Usually, treating him like a mutt would work—but not this. His eyes are sharp and gleaming and his pupils are slit like those of a cat (perhaps a lion would be a better comparison in this case), focused down at you.

He giggles, and you can feel his heart thump in his chest from how he's pressed up against you. "Manager-chan...!! You've come to pick me up from this hellhole! Hehehe... I feel like a lonely princess getting saved from her castle by her prince ♪!"

So I'm the prince in this metaphor... or is it the bus driver?

You suddenly realise that Aiku is still there, probably feeling incredibly awkward with this open display of PDA (no, you two are not dating, but you're not sure if Shidou knows this fact), you send the man an apologetic look—giving him your numbers was a thought long forgotten in your mind. You received your precious cargo and now just wanted to go home.

"Sorry, Aiku. I'll see you later."

He chuckles, leaning back on his heel like he were completely unbothered. "Nah, it's fine. No problem. Don't wanna be too much of a hassle for you. I'll see you around, yeah?"