-3RD POV-
[Day 1 of training for the U-20 match...]
"Huff"
You breathed out as you continued to run around the field with Chigiri, Isagi, and Igaguri. As usual, Chigiri was way ahead of the three of you, you were slowly catching up, Isagi was just a little behind you and Igaguri was dying.
"Ugh...Fuck!" You cursed under your breath, sped off, leaving Isagi behind, and caught up to Chigiri, shocking the red-haired male. "What's the matter, princess? amazed?" You teased as Chigiri smirked, "Sure...But you're still not as fast as me, Your Majesty!" He exclaimed before boosting off into the distance.
"Crap." You stopped as Isagi finally caught up, catching his breath he looked at you grumbling at Chigiri, "Don't take it to heart [Name], we all know he's much faster than us." He patted your back as you took a deep breath and smiled back at him, "You're right Isagi. I'm letting the stress get to my head."
The raven-haired male smiled back at you as you felt the built-up pain and stress leaving your body, Isagi was a very nice, chill, and calm guy, you were honestly glad he approached you first because you wouldn't have been able to survive in this testosterone hell until now.
The two of you started to run again and Igaguri fell onto the ground and started to vomit, making your face twist in disgust while Isagi sweat dropped at the bald monk.
"Should we go help him?"
"No."
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[Day 2 of training for the U-20 match...]
"What the fuck?!"
You screamed internally as you missed the fourth shot. Things were down spiralling for you for some reason and you didn't know what was the cause. This had never been the case before really, so what was happening now?!
You sighed and rubbed the bridge of your nose before plopping yourself onto the ground. You needed to think but no matter how much you didn't know what was wrong. Was it because you were hungry? No that couldn't be since you had just eaten a couple of hours before this. Maybe sleep? No, Ego's been pretty strict these days with the sleep schedule. Maybe muscle str-?!
"[Name}!"
You were shaken awake from your thoughts as somebody jumped and crashed onto you from above while chuckling and giggling like a toddler, yeah...You had a pretty good idea who he was.
"Bachira I swear to god." You grumbled under your breath as the male continued laughing, "Whatchya' thinking so hard? I called you like 5 times from the doorway but you didn't listen!" He said which made you slightly irked.
"So you decided to jump on me? Great choice." You said with a sarcastic smile, Bachira then sat crisscrossed with his legs beside you making you raise a brow, "What are you doing?" You said as the yellow-undertoned male smiled softly at you, "Joining you of course, what else?"
"I'm not meditating though." You pointed out as Bachira made a 'o' face in return, "Then what're you doing?" You exhaled, brushing your bangs to the side, "I have been pretty distracted for no reason these days...Well, you could say I'm unmotivated to play soccer." Bachira's eyes widened briefly before returning to the way they were. He hummed and said nothing as the two of you took comfort in each other's presence.
The first day you met Bachira, it was safe to say you were pretty much weirded out by his little antics that made you remember Misa occasionally. You weren't a fan of Bachira's clinginess or how he would always end up violating your personal space and thought about saying something but stopped yourself thinking you might come off rude to the happy-go-lucky boy.
But even in the short period, Bachira's antics ended up growing on you. You enjoyed his sense of playstyle and humor. The best part was Bachira knew when to be serious and when one was supposedly feeling down, he wasn't a kid really, he was a high schooler after all, "If that's the case...Then wanna play with me?" Bachira grinned at you. You looked at your feet and contemplated for a second before shaking your head, "Yeah." You said, dusting off the fake grass of your uniform as the yellow undertoned male ran to get a ball.
"Whoever scores 5 goals first, wins!"
"Sure."
----
[Day 3 of training for the U-20 match...]
"Kuh!"
Your face landed on the yoga mat as the youngest Itoshi stared at you with complete disappointment, "I knew you didn't know how to do yoga, but your skills baffled me. How can someone be so bad at something this easy." He shook his head as you sweatdropped. You couldn't blame Rin for being slightly annoyed, you had pestered him to train with him and yoga was what he picked.
This moment reminded you of the time you and Fukushima sneaked in to do yoga with Aya and how that resulted in a disaster, "Sorry." You muttered as Rin scoffed, "For what? wasting my time." His tone was laced with sarcasm which made you roll your eyes, "I'm your senpai you brat. Pay some respect to me." You grinned making Rin contort his face to disgust, "I only pay respect to those who earn it, not to random people." The greenish-black-haired male then proceeded to do a completed position which made your jaw drop.
'He's just flexing at me at this point...'
"Really? Then I guess your Aya-san must have done something great, right?" You narrowed your eyes at him as Rin almost fell to the ground because of the sudden comment, "Shut it!" he said while being a flustered mess which made you laugh, "No seriously...What is your relationship with your sister though?" You asked as Rin's eyes widened for a second before falling back to the same position as they were before but this time it was different...There was a certain glint in Rin's eyes which made you slightly surprised.
"It's...Complicated. We both don't talk to each other or rather I don't talk to her much either but she still puts in effort for me, even if I lash out at her or ignore her. She was there for me when Sae left but...I never tried. She might hate me, but it doesn't matter now. The only goal I have is to defeat him in the match." Rin said, his head hung low, his bangs covering his face making you unable to see what kind of expression he held at this very moment. But even after that, you could sense a slight guilt in his voice, the guilt of leaving his sister in the middle, unable to pick which sibling to choose. The guilt of leaving her even if she took his side that day, the guilt of remembering the pained look on her face whenever he would not eat or over-exert his body.
Rin knew Aya felt at fault but he couldn't say a word to her. Whenever he would see her face he would get scared. Maybe there was a slight fear, what if she would say the same things to him? What if she would also be disappointed with him? What if- No he couldn't let the same thing repeat himself. Yes, completely cutting her off from his life is the worst thing he can do to her but for the sake of defeating Sae, he has to do this. Even if he missed her embrace, even if he looked up to her, even if he missed playing soccer with her, even if he started to forget her habits, even if he missed watching horror movies, even if anything! He can't stray from his path. Aya might disagree but this is for both of their sake.
Before you could say anything Rin got up without sparing you a single look, he left. Leaving you in the room with multiple thoughts, one of them being...Guilt.
----
[Day 4 of training for the U-20 match...]
"So hungry..."
You muttered, fixing your wet hair as you walked down the plain and empty hallways of Blue Lock, "Ego has no sense of taste whatsoever. Should have given the designing part to Anri-san instead...She would have surely down a much better job than this." You muttered, suddenly you bumped into someone making you stumble.
"Sorry..."
"Sorry."
"Ah." You immediately recognized whose voice was it, "Nagi-san!" You exclaimed as Nagi made a 'o' face, "Yo, [name]." He looked at you for a second before his gaze returned to his screen making you curious why was he so focused.
"What are you playing?" You said trying to take a peek at his phone but the white haired male was so tall he had to bend down, "I'm trying to beat the end dragon for the third time." He said which made you laugh a little, " I expected a lot more than just three times Nagi." You said which made Nagi quirk his brows, "I have beaten the dragon more than a hundred times...It's my third time today beating it." And as he finished his sentence he beat the dragon, making your jaw drop.
Now, you may have not played Minecraft but you at least knew it takes a LOT of time trying to just reach the end, and not to mention killing the dragon is another thing, "Nagi...Uhm are you even practicing?" You said deadpanning at the white haired as he ignored your question.
"Well you do you, Im gonna go eat." You said passing Nagi but suddenly felt him tug at your sleeve, "Wait, I'll come with you." He said making you quirk a brow at his actions but brushed them off.
The two of you reached the cafeteria in no time, making short conversations here and there. The cafe was luckily not too crowded since it was getting pretty late. Both of you received the food, Nagi got steak while you got (F/J).
( Note- (F/J) stands for fav. Japanese food, since I thought it was a bit unrealistic for the food to be a foreign dish, and before you come at me steak (I think) is the only foreign dish and in many cultures like mine (I'm Hindu) we can't eat steak since it goes against our religious beliefs. You also might have seen where I didn't include [name] going crazy over steak since it doesn't sit right with me because of my religion and for the other Hindus reading this book. Hope you all understand.)
The two of you sat down, and you noticed Nagi was still on his phone which you found a little disappointing and asked him to eat and then use his phone and he complied, "So...Did two of you talk it out?" You asked shifting a little in your chair.
"Who are you talking about?" Nagi asked obliviously making you deadpan, "You know I'm talking about, Reo, who else?" You said which made Nagi's eyes widen for a second before looking down at his food, "We did." He replied which made me a little frustrated with the short answer.
"And? care to explain further?" You said while aggressively shoving food inside your mouth. Nagi didn't say anything as his shoulders slumped which made your anger go down a little. Nagi felt sad, you could see it from his body language. The white haired male wasn't good at communicating at all and when he had to, Reo would be there for him but he wasn't. The same went for you and Misa. Even if you knew how to speak up for yourself, you still let Misa do it since she understood you more than you understood yourself.
Now that Reo stopped talking to Nagi, you learned Nagi's body language since the boy wasn't exactly much of a chatterbox, "What happened Nagi?" You said making Nagi's eyes widen at your question, "...Reo told me not to bother him and that I should keep waiting." Nagi said as you nodded, you get Reo's thought process. He is trying to stop leaning on Nagi for his support and rather is going to make his own name on his own efforts. Rather than a passer, Reo now wants to be a striker.
But Reo also isn't progressing, he is still telling Nagi to wait for him, meaning he's just doing this for revenge. It's just like between Rin and Sae. Reo is still not his own person and is rather still tied to Nagi in some way, he might think he's not but his heart says otherwise.
"Nagi..." You wanted to tell the male sitting beside you the truth, but couldn't bring yourself. Maybe Nagi already knew or maybe he didn't have a clue. The more Reo distances himself from Nagi the more he wants him and the more Nagi doesn't understand Reo behaviour the more Nagi will distance himself from Reo, thinking it's for the 'best'.
You sighed and rubbed your head. No, it wasn't your place to speak. It's better if Nagi and Reo solve their own obstacles on their own. Yes, you're a friend to him but not a damn therapist who's here to solve everyone's problems. You're here to play soccer...And that's all that matters.
After that, the two of you eat in silence. Nagi didn't say a word or rather he was lost in his thoughts and you just decided to leave him be.
----
[Day 5 of training for U-20 match...]
"Do I really have to?"
Now, this wasn't your average [name] situation. You were asked by Aryu and Chigri to help them with braiding their hair. Any usual person would get excited to braid two pretty boys' hair, and you would too if you weren't on your period trying not to jump off the highest cliff you could find.
The two of them aggressively nodded their hair making you sigh and climb off your bed lazily. You yawned before looking at all the 'daily routine' stuff Aryu had brought. You were more surprised with Chigiri who would earlier become irritated when you would ask to braid his hair but Aryu told you that he showed the red-haired male some pictures of your braiding skills on his hair and it was safe to say Chigri was sold on the idea.
Your hair was medium-length. Not too long and not too short, it was the perfect length for soccer and daily life. You sat down and patted the front for Chigri to sit down. Aryu had decided to paint his nails first, "What color are you going with Aryu?" You asked mindlessly, taking Chigri's soft hair in your hands, "I'm thinking of sheer black with some white strips." Aryu said as he took out the two nail polish from the necessity bag, "Oo~ I like the sound of that." You grinned and started to think what kind of braid would suit Chigri the best.
Now you weren't an expert at braiding. Your mom had taught you how to do it and then you started experimenting on Misa which at first was a disaster but after a few months, you seemed to get a hang of it.
"What kind of braid would you like Chigiri?" You asked, "Just go with whatever you think would suit me the best. I think I'm in trusted hands." The three of you chuckled, "Really? Then I will try my best not to mess this up." You said as Chigri smirked, "You better not."
After some deliberation, you decided to go with French braids. Not too much stylish and classy, just like how Chigiri is. The three of you talked about various. Life in Blue Lock, life outside of Blue Lock. About how much Chigiri was a cat person. Aryu was also a cat person which was not that surprising and you liked both animals equally.
"And...Done!" You said after finishing the last braid. You excitedly grabbed a mirror and handed it to Chigiri who looked awestruck, "[name], did you work at a hair salon?!" Chigiri exclaimed as Aryu nodded, "It's not glam like how would want it but it goes with Chigri well. The three of you nodded and then Aryu proceeded to show off his nails which made you and Chigiri go feral at them.
You three were truly having a blast.
---
[Day 6]...
[Day 7]...
[Day 10]...
[Day 13]...
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[Day 14, last day training for the U-20 match...]
"Damn."
The two weeks somehow went by like a snap. Today was the last day and scarily enough maybe the last day at Blue Lock itself if your team would love the match tomorrow. Not only would it take away your dream but also be pretty humiliating to lose in front of thousands of people and prove JFU right.
You looked at your phone. Right now, everyone must be working hard and doing every last possible thing left. Working on their dribbles, shooting, defense, stamina, and more. But...In only a few hours you would be standing on the field where your future is at stake.
"Yeah, I know what I should be doing right now." You said and clicked on your phone.
'Ring....'
'Ring...'
Ring...'
"Hello?"
It was the voice you cherished the most in this world. The one who brought you through thick and thin. The one who was your best friend. The one who didn't judge you in any case. The one who was on your side no matter what. The one understood you the most. Yeah, the person was mom. Who else?
"Hi, mom."
"[Name]?! Oh my god baby why didn't you call me for so long? I was worried sick you know!"
"I know and I'm sorry. You know life's crazy here at Blue Lock. I barely get enough sleep because of training and stuff."
"Mhmm, I get it. Don't stress yourself out though! you should say healthy no matter what comes."
"Right right. Anyways, did you get the ticket for the match tomorrow?"
"Of course I did! I wouldn't miss your match even if it's the end of the world."
" Thanks, So...How's life?"
"You're asking me like you're a 40-year-old woman."
"Oh please. You know I suck at making conversation."
"Oh right, Misa's always been the one who does the talking. But life's good. I just wish you would be here more, it's not great without you."
"Same here. It's getting more and more hectic day by day."
"I get you. Same with my job. The old geezers at the nursing home are so annoying for the life of me! They order me around like I'm their servant."
" Just quit working there then?"
"I work there to help the people in need even if I have a different job and besides some of the old grandma's give me cookies. Anyways, what happened? why did you call me?"
"Do I have to have a reason to call you? you make me sound ungrateful."
"You're my kid, [name]. I know quite literally everything about you. Now spill it. What happened."
"I just wanted to talk....Okay fine, I'm quite stressed. Could you...motivate me somehow? Make me want to get on the field tomorrow without wanting to hide in the bathroom?"
"Mhh...[name] listen up."
"I'm listening."
"Just be you tomorrow. Think how you want to think. Play how you want to play. Tomorrow you're going to be the first-ever female playing a national game on a male's team. They're going to be harsh but I want you to be ten times harsher. Do not let anyone influence the way you think. Score on that field, my egoist."
"Woah...Mom where did you learn how to do that?!"
"I'm a therapist [name], I learned to do this a very long time."
"I know but that gave me chills just now...But thanks, this really helped me. More than you think it did."
" Anytime sweetheart. I have to go. Another early part-time at the nursing home tomorrow. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Bye, mom. see you too."
'Call ended...'
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