"Soooo, how about it?"
Y/N smiled cheerfully at the group of adults, idly balancing a football on the top of his shoe. The rain partially obscured his vision of them, curtains of water drenching his clothes and plastering his hair to his forehead. But looking closer, he could still see them talking to each other as they threw suspicious glances at him.
They were on a huge artificial pitch, surrounded on all sides by the tall, rectangular skyscrapers that formed most of the inner city of Tokyo. High flood lights cast huge beams of bright light across the field, but still in the pouring rain, it was hard to see far even with the added light.
Nobody else was out on the streets - indeed, nobody would risk the rain except for the group of soccer players gathered on the turf. And the seventeen-year old boy currently standing near them, smiling even in the bad weather.
He wore a long sleeve soccer jersey, black with red stripes down the arms and back. His shoes seemed to be pretty expensive, but well used, in the same black and red colour.
"Cmon, it's just a fun game right? No harm in letting me join?" The boy whined, flicking the ball into the air and catching it on the back of his neck. He glanced pleadingly at the other soccer players. "Pleeeease?"
"Fine." One of the men glanced at his friends. He got a few curious looks, but he simply shrugged. Y/N's e/c eyes lit up, and he stood up, letting his ball fall behind him. "He's just a kid, and like he said, we're just here for fun."
"Yo, what team is he going to be on?" Another player spoke up, his jersey covered by a dark red bib. He looked at the boy with almost disgust. "You let him join, put him on your team. I don't want him."
Instead of getting insulted, Y/N just nodded agreeably. "It's fine, I don't want you either!" He kept up the same smile the entire time.
Ignoring the other man's splutter of annoyance, the teenager turned to one of the people without a bib on. "Hi there! My name's Y/N L/N, pleased to meet you."
He extended a hand, bowing slightly and waiting patiently for a response. "I think I'm on your team..."
"Yep!" The man he'd held a hand out to eagerly accepted, shaking Y/N's hand firmly once. He seemed happy enough to accept Y/N... "Can you play defence?"
"Sure...?" Y/N's smile dimmed slightly at the question, but he nodded nonetheless. Don't particularly like it, though. Even though he wasn't here to train his shooting - these guys wouldn't really be much of a challenge for him anyway - he still wanted to try to score at least one.
"Great." The players split up from their groups, the people without red vests on heading for one side of the pitch and the red vests to the other. Y/N followed his team, skipping behind them and listening to them as they talked strategy.
"Are we sure the kid can even defend? We've lost two games already, and I don't want to lose three in a row just because we have a shit defence." One of the players said, and Y/N butted in. The other people looked at him, surprised.
"I prefer to play striker, but I'm fine playing anywhere. I'll have fun anyways." The boy froze still, the smile on his face growing distant for a few seconds as his eyes ran over the enemy players.
He shrugged. "Eh, none of them look that good anyways."
One man looked at him, and gestured to a player on the other team. He was tall, with flashy pink boots and a physique far beyond any of the other people on the field. It was obvious he was different from everyone else, holding himself high and staring over the field like he owned it.
"See that guy? Pink shoes?" Y/N nodded, pursing his lips, and his teammate spoke in almost a reverent tone. "That's Tanaka-kun. He's the best player here by far. He's on the Tokyo regional team!"
"Mhm...?" Y/N looked confusedly at his teammate. Only Tokyo regional? Why does that matter? "Like I said, not that good."
A collective 'ooooh' went up from the people around him, and Y/N just raised an eyebrow as another stranger came forwards. "Put the kid in centre-forward then. Tanaka plays defence, so we can watch him wreck this newbie."
Most people seemed to agree with this stranger, and Y/N just smiled happily as they all one by one allowed him to play striker.
As soon as it was decided, he sort of pranced forwards, raising a hand to wipe some water out of his eyes. As his teammates sorted out the rest of the positions behind him, he got into a ready position.
Lowering himself slightly, his gaze lasered across the field, landing on the pink-booted man near the back of the enemy team. Tanaka still had the same prideful expression on his face. Like he knew he was the best there. Come on, Tanaka-kun. Let's see what you have.
Within a few seconds, one of the men blew a whistle, and the game started.
The enemy started with the ball, kicking it back to one of the people out on the wing. Even though everyone had said it was a casual game, all of them were focused, yelling out to each other as they slowly progressed up the field.
Y/N's teammates surged forwards to meet them, the rain drowning out most of the noise as they applied pressure, forcing the other team to slow down. As for Y/N himself, he just stood idly in the centre of the field, watching the ball get passed around in front of him.
It was always interesting for him, to watch the mesmerising movements of players running to and fro on the pitch, and how both lines of players moved back and forth, all controlled by the one ball bouncing across the artificial grass. God, I love soccer.
The enemy seemed to be much better than his own team, passing it between them as they slowly built up an attack. Even though his team constantly pressed them, they couldn't steal the ball away.
"Kid, what are you doing?" One of his teammates yelled at him, having just tried to steal the ball. It was relatively quiet with the rain's white noise, but Y/N still picked up on it. "Do you even know how to play?"
Y/N grinned, waving at his teammate. "Of course I do," he replied. "I'm just here to relax though."
"Get the ball! I'm not losing this one!"
One of his teammates went in for a low tackle. The enemy player stepped back, trying to pass it, but the pass went wide. The ball came bouncing to Y/N's feet, with two enemy players right behind it.
He just took one deep breath. The two players approached fast, not bothering to slow down or give him any sort of respect. He was just a kid, after all. No threat.
As they got within a few metres, he acted. One foot shot out, lifting the ball into the air, and his second foot flicked it up and over the players' heads. Y/N's eyes narrowed, and with a burst of speed he was suddenly behind the players, catching his own ball and kicking it forwards.
Everyone on his team paused for a second, yells of surprise coming from them as they watched the teenager style on the enemy.
"What the fuc-" Another enemy player ran headfirst at Y/N, cut short as the boy feinted a pass to the side. His leg went out to block it, and with a twist of his ankle, Y/N sent the ball rolling straight through his legs.
Three down. Y/N's bright smile still glowed on his face as he dribbled forwards. The people behind him were calling out to their teammates, and two of the enemy midfielders were closing in fast. They were giving him a bit more respect now, slowing down and being careful instead of just running at him.
"Kid, out here!" He registered one of his teammates, yelling for the ball on the far wing. But of course, he ignored him, because why would he pass to a teammate when he could score himself?
Y/N stepped out wide, rolling the ball with him. He locked eyes with the first midfielder, going straight past him as they futilely lashed out at air. Too slow. The second one had been a bit more reserved, approaching with caution, but Y/N didn't stop.
He darted to one side before the man could react, spinning on the ball of his foot and pushing off to rush past the defender. A cheer came up from his team, and a groan from the enemy.
The man he'd just passed spun round. "A roulette???" He attempted to chase, but Y/N was already far ahead, a laugh falling from his lips as he blitzed down the pitch. The boy stared down Tanaka as he approached the defensive line. This kid is... a monster.
By now, Y/N's own team was in full attack mode. The defenders pushed up, the wingers called out again and again for the ball, but Y/N didn't stop.
The enemy defensive line fast approached, and beyond that... the goal. They were much more organised than the midfielders that had tried to stop him, three different people closing in at the same time. Tanaka, the 'best person here', was directly in front of Y/N.
Y/N lunged forwards. He faked a ball pull back, drawing in one of the defenders, and with a flick of his foot he was past the first. The second followed nearly instantly behind, but he simply bounced the ball outside of his foot, kicking it past everyone to the right.
They kept on him, but were a good few seconds behind. The ball had gone wide, and Y/N sprinted after it, eyes glinting as he passed under a floodlight. "Come on, Tanaka."
Like a wraith, the man appeared out of the rain, displaying much faster speed than the rest of his team. He glared down at Y/N, standing much taller and broader than the teenager. "Try me."
This guy is on the regional team? Really? Y/N smiled cooly up at Tanaka, glancing to the right like he wanted to go there.
He burst into movement, ducking right and pushing the ball that same way. Tanaka followed his motions, pressuring him, but the boy pulled the ball back, kicking it hard against the floor.
The ball bounced high into the air, and Y/N took one step back, drawing his leg back. He focused entirely on the ball, planting one foot and shifting his weight.
The taller man hesitated for a second, confused at what Y/N was doing. The boy wasn't anywhere near the goal, but he was winding up like he wanted to shoot...? Could it be that he's actually going to curve it past me?
He flung a pink boot out, trying to stop Y/N from shooting.
An instant before Y/N kicked the ball, he looked up at Tanaka. His smile grew even wider, seeing the man's confusion. "Got you."
His foot gently tapped the ball, sending it flying straight past the last defender. Y/N was through in a flash, leaving the pink-booted man in a daze as he disappeared in a second.
The boy's grin stretched from ear to ear as he got close to the goal. The goalkeeper came forwards, teeth gritted. It didn't help much as Y/N blasted the ball into the top corner of the net.
It fell to the ground with a dull thump. And everyone on the pitch stared in shock at Y/N.
Picking up the ball from the opponent's goal, he jogged back to his own team, sopping wet as the rain continued harder than ever. "How many more goals do we want?"
One of the other players sweatdropped. "Hey, kid, I don't think this is gonna be fair..."