Sorry for the late update. I was recently involved in a minor accident so my hands had to suffer the consequences which now makes it incredibly hard and painful to type for a long period of time. Once again, sorry to make you wait and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
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"Manager,"
Silence.
"Manager, please say something"
More silence.
"Do you need help? I can help with the dishe-"
"I'm fine. Please leave the kitchen"
Shirou sighed dejectedly before walking out.
"So, what'd she say?" Atsuya asked but his brother only shook his head making everyone else's shoulder sag.
"What do we do now? She hasn't said anything in five hours. I'm honestly starting to get concerned" Kidou said "Oh now you're getting concerned?" Gouenji rolled his eyes but the midfielder just ignored the sarcastic question.
Then you walked out. You noticed how everyone stood a tad straighter but you said nothing.
You walked back and front from the kitchen to the dining area, dropping off freshly cooked meals with each visit.
After setting the table, you took a seat at your usual chair. You looked at everyone who was still staring at you. You frowned. "Well are you just going to stand there and let all this food go to waste?" you raised a brow at them. Everyone hesitated for a while before scrambled to their designated seats and began eating quietly.
Dinner wasn't that bad, onsidering no one has been violently hit in the face with a rolling pin, the silence round the table was still bearable.
After everyone was done clearing their plates, they were all ready to go to their rooms and just call it a night. Normally, you all would have probably already snuggled up comfortably on the couch ready to pick a movie for you all to watch but now everyone just wanted to get away from each other.
"Asuto" you called. Everyone paused and said boy looked like they were about to have a heart attack. The room was still until you glanced up at the rest of them who, for some reason, still stood in place.
"Yes?" you asked with a raised brow, still looking at everyone else in the room. "Let's go," Tatsuya sighed as he ushered the rest of the juniors up to their rooms leaving only you, Asuto and Olivia.
You stood up from your seat and walked to the kitchen, pulling open a cabinet and searching through its contents before finally finding what you were looking for.
"Here," you said dropping the contents on the table. "Huh?" he looked so lost and cute that you almost cooed. "It's your pain meds, you forgot to take them this afternoon" you said before watching realization cross his eyes. "Oh," was all he said before plopping the medication in his mouth and washing it down with a few sips of water.
"No go on, time for bed" you said ushering him out of the dining area before heading to the living room with Olivia following closely behind.
"You know you can't ignore them forever right?" Olivia started out.
You didn't even looked up from your phone before replying, "Wasn't planning on it"
"So you're not mad?
"No, I'm still very upset"
"C'mon, Maya,"
"I'll forgive when I'm sure they've learnt their lesson"
"And how long is that going to take?"
"Why are you suddenly interested in that?" you looked up from your phone to see her face flush
"I-"
"I mean, I haven't seen you befriend anyone on the team yet so why are you suddenly so concerned?" You suddenly asked. Her face turned red making you smirk.
"D-Don't try to change the topic!" The smile on your face didn't even falter one bit.
"Fine," you said looking back at your phone. "I'll consider it" the green haired girl beside you smiled. "That's great!" you looked up at her and raised a brow at her enthusiasm. She cleared her throat before giving you a meek smile.
You looked back at your phone, almost missing the relieved look on her face. She mumbled something to herself but you couldn't hear what she said. All you knew was that it was along the lines of 'he'd be so happy'.
You didn't want to think about that now as tiredness washed over you. "I'm going to bed," you said letting out a yawn as you headed towards the stairs.
"Uh, Maya?" Olivia called making you pause.
"Yeah?"
"You'll settle this with the guys tomorrow, right?" there was a slight accusation in her tone but you just smiled.
"Well in all honesty, I can't really stay that mad at them for too long anyway. But, let's just let the kids suffer for a little while longer" She couldn't see your expression but you knew she could tell how wide your grin was at that moment.
"Maya," she gave you her famous scolding glare making you sigh in defeat.
"Fiiinnneee" you said before muttering a 'you're no fun'. She stuck her tongue out at you making you roll your eyes.
"Night, Honey!" she waved at you, and you couldn't help the small smile that broke out on your face. Where did you even find such a crackhead to be your best friend?
"Goodnight, bonehead"
The next morning, you walked down the stairs feeling refreshed. Haru, who was rapped in thick blankets so that he wouldn't catch a cold, was still sleeping in your arms and a still sleepy Olivia walking beside you.
"Morning guys!" you greeted everyone with a smile making all of them look at you like you had grown an extra head. You ignored their weird looks and headed into the kitchen.
"Did she hit her head or something?" Fudou asked after he was sure you wouldn't be able to hear them.
"Now I'm just honestly scared" Goujin shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Breakfast's ready!" you called from the dining area. Everyone shared hesitant looks before walking over to where you were standing.
"Uh, w-why the sudden attitude change?" Kidou asked and you shot him a look.
"Are you complaining?"
"O-Of course not" he quickly replied. You smiled again making everyone else more confused.
"Now I'm sure she's hit her head" Fudou mumbled.
"Eat before the food gets cold" you said before muttering, so that everyone else could hear you clearly, "And before I change my mind"
No one needed to be told twice as they all scurried to their seats and started eating obediently. They all even offered to help was the dishes after you all were done and even offered to clean the house also so that you could rest.
"Sure, knock yourselves out" you shrugged.
"You predicted this would happen, didn't you?" Olivia asked but you just gave her a smug smile.
"I wouldn't really call it prediction. It's more of experience" you replied before walking away.
Evening quickly rolled back and everything seemed to have gone back to normal except for the way everyone would slightly tense up or sit a tad straighter whenever you walked in on them.
"Has anyone seen Olivia?" you asked but received only negative answers. "I haven't see her all evening" Shirou replied. You nodded before leaving to continue your search for her.
You walked down the empty hallways before hearing some familiar voices. It was hushed but you knew you weren't hearing things.
You moved closer and saw Olivia talking to one of the guys. You couldn't see his face but the bright red hair was a dead giveaway.
"Uh, thanks, I'll see you around" You heard Olivia say before she walked away.
Once close enough, you pulled the red haired defender by the hood of his hoodie making him stop in his tracks.
"Manager?"
"Yes, Tatsu, it's me" you gave him a deadpan look. "What are you doing hiding around in the hallway?" he asked. "I was looking for Olivia, any idea where she might be?" you asked.
"U-Uh y-yeah, she just walked by"
His face was flushed making you narrow your eyes at him.
You just nodded before walking (running), into the direction where Olivia had gone into.
"Liv!" you called once you were sure the American was within hearing range. She turned back before noticing you running towards her.
"Oh hey, Maya, I was just on my way over to see you," She said but you shook your head, still trying to regain your composure and catch your breath.
"I-It's fine. Come, I need to show you something" you said before pulling your friend with you all the way to the other side of the house and back to your room.
*⚽*
The next couple of days passed by uneventfully. The team had won the semi-final match against Saudi Arabia and are now preparing for the finals against China.
The team was busy with practice most of the time. They'd leave for the training grounds immediately after breakfast and return around 10pm.
Though the house was a bit scanty, Olivia and Matteo were always there to keep you company.
Right now, it was just the three of you at home presently and as you all were enjoying a nice game of Monopoly, the door bell rang.
You sprang to your feet knowing exactly who it was. Or rather, who they were.
You opened the door to reveal a very tired looking team standing, (barely), on the other side of the door. "Practice was tough, huh?" you said ushering them in, a look of pity on your face as you watched them carelessly toss their bags beside the coat rack, by the door.
Everyone was covered in scratches and bruises which made you slightly worried. Though it was quite normal for them to come home looking a little beat up after practice, the sight still stung you.
"Your dinner is in the fridge, I'll heat it up for you," you offered. "Thanks, Manager" Nosaka smiled at you before you ran off to go set the table.
Though you had to admit, the sight of most of the juniors almost faceplanting into their bowl of porridge due to sleepiness was quite funny, you still managed to keep a straight face throughout the rest of dinner.
And without even sharing another glance, they had all retired back to their rooms.
But your job was still far from over.
After making sure that everyone had fallen asleep, you mad sure you had visited all their room, helping to tend to their injuries.
You had to spend an extra amount of time with some, even eventually waking them up in the process.
You now had three rooms left. Kazemaru, Kidou and Hiroto.
You decided to treat the junior first.
You opened the door slowly before walking in and gently shutting it. It was a mystery how this boy was probably the neatest person in the whole house.
Everything in his room was arranged to perfection which made it a lot easier for you to move around.
You made your way over to the heap on the bed, ready to get this over with and get some sleep yourself.
"Hiro?" you called but only received an annoyed groan in reply.
"Go. Away." the striker grunted but you only rolled your eyes, ignoring his complaint.
You sat down beside him on his bed and began cleaning his wound.
"Why are you still awake and what are you doing here?" you turned and was met with a pair of dull eyes. "What does it look like I'm doing? Baking cookies?" your sarcastic answer made him let out a tired laugh.
He say up a bit, rubbing a little of the sleepiness from his eyes. "You're too sarcastic for your own good," he said but you just shrugged.
"You know what I always say, a stupid question will always deserves a sarcastic answer"
"You never say that"
"Well I'm saying it now,"
"It doesn't work like that"
"Whatever," you rolled your eyes fondly at the curly haired boy.
You finished what you were doing before standing to your feet. "Are you going to bed now?" The striker asked as he made himself more comfortable by almost burying his entire figure in the sheets.
"Nope. Still have two more to take care of"
"You're going to end up over working yourself"
You just shrugged. "Doesn't matter. So as far you're all taken care of"
"You do matter" the striker frowned but you just smiled. He looked so cute half asleep.
"I'll be fine. Now go to bed" you said, covering the rest of his upper body, aside from his head, with the blanket. You ruffled his curly hair a bit before finally heading for the door.
"Goodnight, manager" you heard him mumble as you were about to walk out.
"Goodnight, noodle head"
"I head that," he let out another groan making you laugh.
"I know,"
You walked out and continued with your mini-quest. After taking care of Kazemaru, who thankfully had a lot less injuries, you went towards the last room.
You walked in trying to be as quiet as possible. The quiet sound of snores telling you that the commander was fast asleep.
You went towards the bed but noticed that it was empty.
You then turned to look towards the small table and chair in the corner, the light from the lamp being the only source of illumination in the room making you find it a lot easier.
You looked over the sleeping figure's shoulder to see a lot of scattered pieces of paper all over the table. It was filled with the team's progress so far, game plans and a few information on the opposing team.
From what you could understand, China's team had grown incredibly in strength and had an estimated 48% chance of winning.
You looked surprisedly at what the mid fielder had planned out. The strategy was almost flawless, though it still seemed to be incomplete.
Maybe that was what he was still working on when he had eventually fallen asleep.
Deciding that moving him to his bed would be too much of a hassle so you just grabbed a pillow and blanket from his bed, placing the pillow under his head in such a way that when he wakes up the next morning, his neck won't hurt as much and covering him to make sure he's not bothered by the cold atmosphere.
You then slowly removed his goggles and placed it gently beside him.
You patted his head a bit before turning on your heels and walking out.
You sighed after checking the time to reveal that it was now a little bit past 2 in the morning.
Tiredness washed over you that immediately you had gotten to your room, you threw yourself and the bed and fell asleep instantly.
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Hope it's not too bad