Ascension│Bluelock x male reader

2.13. Substitutions

"Looks like they're going for a substitution!"

Ego's face was set in stone as he made adjustments to his game plan. He'd expected some sort of trick by Kuroi, but nothing like this. If he let the game continue, Y/N would take over.

A centre-back with skills in vision... against his unpredictability, it's useless. A winger who is out of stamina... He thought. We need to focus on stopping Y/N. The rest of the U-20 team won't be able to do anything.

Ego beckoned over three players. "Raichi Jingo. Reo Mikage. Hiori Yo." They immediately stood up, hurrying over. Signalling for a substitution, Ego beckoned the three players close.

"Reo, you're replacing Niko. Hiori, you're replacing Chigiri. Tell Otoya he's now in defence, and you're playing upfield. And Raichi, you're replacing Nagi. However, you're in Karasu's position, and Karasu will move up to Nagi's spot." He hurriedly said. "Clear?"

"Clear."

"Raichi. You know why you're on, correct?"

The boy's face scrunched up. "To score goals?"

"No." Ego leant forwards. "Man-mark Y/N L/N at all times. Your one goal is to slow him down."

He looked like he was about to protest, mouth opening and a scowl forming. But Raichi shut his mouth a second after, and just nodded. "Yes, coach."

The three players jogged onto the pitch to the cheers of the crowd, slapping hands with their companions as they swapped positions. This was a planned out formation by Ego, specifically designed to defend against Y/N. Sure, it weakened their offence, but the main priority was to shut Y/N out of the game.

The boy himself stood close to Sae, the midfielder being the only person he wanted to talk to at that moment. His teammates avoided him, shooting him annoyed, worried glances. It did nothing but make Y/N feel more guilty, more conflicted.

"You don't have to follow him, you know." Sae murmured quietly. He didn't touch Y/N, but just his presence was comforting enough. "You're not in that place anymore."

"I know." Y/N mumbled. "I just- he scares me so much. I don't wanna make him angry. Feels... wrong."

"Hm." Sae nodded. Head angled to the floor, Y/N didn't see anything as Sendou and Darai shot him especially nasty looks. He also didn't see Sae, meeting each of their eyes with an unimpressed glare. "Don't think about the consequences. He can't do anything to you."

Y/N swallowed hard, edging even closer, seeking more comfort. "Yeah."

"So, do you want to score more in this game?" Sae asked softly. "What do you want to do? Don't even think about anyone else."

What do I want to do?

Instead of facing that terrifyingly deep question, Y/N decided to go for a much easier option - the only thing he'd been taught for years. Yeah, I'm not facing those thoughts now. He knew he was being a coward, running from his own emotions, but hey.

He'd always been a good runner.

"I want to score. More." Sae nodded once as Y/N exhaled, calming himself down.

"There we go." He turned on his heel, glancing at the Bluelock players moving on and off the pitch. "They're making changes."

"It won't matter." Y/N stated. "I'm going to score again."

He turned to face the enemy team, spreading his fingers to stretch his hands before idly running them down his sides. They didn't look that scared, actually. The substitutes were mixing with the starting lineup, spreading something amongst their ranks.