55. SHIDOU RYUSEI
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YOUR
brain is completely occupied by mind-numbing thoughts as you step off the bus, sparing a small smile and thanks to the driver before they park and wait for you to come back with your precious cargo (if your precious cargo happened to be an antennaed freak who fights everyone in his vicinity).
Sucking in a deep breath, you step inside the facility where the U-20 players currently reside.
Since you were the first one who went with Shidou (and the only one he bothered to listen to), you were also tasked with bringing him back to Blue Lock. He stayed with the U-20 team for a little bit after the big game, and the day after you and your team's celebration, he needed to come back.
After all, he was still a Blue Locker.
This time, it feels a lot more nerve-wracking than before. At least before, none of them knew who you were. Now, it feels like you've turned into their mortal enemy or something—the tension fills up the room like smoke and suddenly it's hard to breathe.
Your heels click against the floor in an almost comforting motion. It's loud, and it rings through your ears—it gives you enough distraction so you don't have to see the sorrowful faces of the U-20 players. Of course, you feel bad—not bad enough to say anything, but you still retain some menial sense of pity.
You're surprised at this fact too, since spending so much time with Shidou Ryusei, any other normal person would have probably started tearing at their skin to just escape him—let alone keep any of their normal sense.
But you aren't all that normal, are you?
You've known this fact for a while now, but still, thinking about it—it feels so strange. You'd always thought of yourself as the most average a person could possibly be—never anything strange, different, or unique to the crowd. But here, in Blue Lock, everything you knew has been changed.
Shidou Ryusei just happened to be one of them. Quite possibly the strangest man you have ever had the displeasure of meeting—yet, in a way, you felt like his presence held a strange sense of comfort. Somebody who doesn't care for societal norms or other's expectations—somebody who is always genuine and never lies to make others feel better about themself.
It's refreshing to be around somebody like that. In a strange, twisted way—you feel like you can trust Ryusei.
Somebody who would never lie, someone who prides themself in their abilities, and somebody who's so genuine with the world and is never afraid to hide who they are—those are what you believe define Shidou.
(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?"
"Right. I hope you have a good day." With a small wave, you turn around—Shidou's now latched himself to your side with an arm wrapped around your shoulders. His larger figure is leaning down to yours.
You don't catch the peace sign Shidou sends Aiku with the hand not wrapped around you, nor the winning smirk that crawls up the lips of the tanned man.
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Shidou somehow managed to convince you to let him say his goodbyes to Sae before you two ended up leaving. The older Itoshi was peacefully held up in his room, perhaps listening to a podcast or reading a book—whatever he was doing did not matter because he was very much interrupted by the loud voice of Shidou.
"BYE SAEEE!!! I LOVE YOU ♪!!"
You can feel yourself cringe at the sound of his loud voice shamelessly ringing out through the halls. If you listen hard enough, you think you can hear the scoff of Sae Itoshi—but you can't be sure. You hope he's doing okay, mentally, after dealing with Shidou.
You aren't sure if you are. Still, Shidou keeps himself glued to at least one part of your body—whether it be your hands, arm, back, or shoulders—at all times until you two make it to the bus. There's nothing for the bus driver to carry, so he lets out a loud sigh of relief.
That relief soon turns into horror at the sight of Shidou Ryusei.
As soon as you both take your seat at the far, far back corner of the bus, you begin your lecture, "Shidou. Don't cause any trouble for the bus driver, okay? Just because you had an incredible performance at the U-20 match, doesn't mean—"
You aren't too sure what point you were trying to make, but it didn't matter now, because he abruptly cuts you off by tugging you forward. You collapse atop his lap, and he roughly tugs you upwards so that you're sitting atop his knees.
You don't even get a chance to react properly before his hand is entangled in your hair and he tugs your face down, bringing you into a flaming kiss that sears into your painted lips, permanently branding you with the touch of him.
Your eyes widen and you immediately start squirming, head pounding in your chest harder than you would've liked—but Shidou is nothing but persistent. He tugs your head harder, to the point it causes a dull ache to spread throughout the area, and you can feel his wicked grin against your face.
He pulls away before it gets too heated—this fact surprises you, but you have a sinking feeling that he's far from done—his face is flushed red and he almost appears to have fangs when he leans his head forward to place his lips near your ear, "You wanna know a secret, [name]-chan? I'm super pissed at you."
The way he's grinning and his relaxed demeanour—like he was melting into you—did not show this fact at all. You don't think he's telling the truth, or at least, the whole truth. He tugs your body closer to his to the point your chest is pressed against his.
"You wanna know why? 'Cause you left at the best part. I fuckin' exploded on the field 'n you weren't even there ta watch. That goal was one of the best fucking moments of my life, and you weren't there to see it. You were off with that stupid fuckin' redhead, right? You two were off screwin' while I was looking like an idiot searchin' for ya on the bleachers?"
The fact that he's right makes your stomach twist into knots. Your lack of response and the way you lower your eyes with pink cheeks gives him all the confirmation he needs. His grin grows even wider.
"You know what? I could give less of a fuck about him, or whatever other boytoy ya got."
He giggles, lips coiling upwards and his warmth is starting to seep into you like honey. Your heart won't stop pounding, and neither will your head. "[name]-chan, you wanna know why? Because you know as well as I do nobody can make you squirm like me."
You don't think you've ever heard him speak so quietly before—yet with the puff of hot air against your ear, redness creeps up your neck. Shidou's so unafraid of what others think of him—he's so unafraid of the world and its hatred—yet, he treats you with this sense of softness you don't think you've ever noticed before.
At least, not until now.
Maybe you've been the same.
"Ryusei..." Your voice is creaky and it's barely audible over the sound of the throbbing ache in your head. Even though you're sure your voice is the farthest thing from seductive or attractive right now, his breath still hitches and he presses his lips against your collarbone.
You notice how he eyes a certain purple mark you had received two days ago. You had forgotten to conceal it, and hid it with your windbreaker jacket—but now it was ripped off and forgotten elsewhere on the bus—on full display for Shidou to see.
You can see full well how he eyes it, yet chooses to avoid it and press his mouth to the other side of your neck. "Fuck. Say that shit again."
He almost moans when you do, sinking his teeth into the smooth expanse of your skin and sucking. "Ya can never call me Shidou again, yeah? Only Ryusei. Fuck. You sound so good when ya say that."
You're practically jittering in his arms, hips twitching when he runs his hands up and down your clothed body, gripping and pawing at any squishy part he could get his hands on. Your thighs, your ass, your hips, your chest—Shidou, no, Ryusei—he pulls and tugs at it all like he's mindless.
Finally, after leaving a particularly hard bite into your neck (you truly think he's trying to draw blood) and licking over it as an apology when you wince, he pulls away, looking particularly satisfied with the mark he left behind on you.
"So pretty," he coos—one hand sneakily reaches down and slips underneath your shirt, feeling the skin of your back, while the other reaches up and cups the left side of your face. You unconsciously lean into his touch with a dazed look. It makes him grin even wider. "You're so fucking pretty. Fuck. Whenever I see you I always wanna do this. Make it impossible to concentrate."
Without warning—yet, you seem to predict it—he crashes his lips into yours, slipping his tongue against yours and making out with you like it'll kill him if he stops.
It's gross. It's violent, with unabashed lust—it's more teeth than tongue, but you can't get enough. Ryusei loves with such intensity and it's so easy for normal people to get overwhelmed by the potent drug that is his love—but you're not normal, not one bit.
That's why you kiss him back just as hard—he moans into your mouth and it reverberates down your throat, making you whimper back. If his mouth wasn't connected to yours, you're sure you'd be drooling—his hand under your shirt reaches up and paws at your chest—yet, his thumb strokes against your face so light and gently it makes you wonder if this is the same man.
Ryusei has always looked like a demon to you. From the very first moment you met him, until today, where he stares down at you like you're mere prey—but now, you don't think he's ever looked more human.
You've never felt closer to him. Your hands find their place resting atop his chest—the back of each of your hands pressed up against each other as he parts himself from your lips with a gasp for air.
There's barely an inch of a gap between the two of you, a string of drool proof of the intensity between the both of you—it takes Ryusei less than a minute for him to go right back to where he left off, lips against yours so hard they begin to bruise.
Flame licks the inside of your belly, and your hands reach down to his stomach—they trace over the hard surface with featherlight touches. You both groan at the feeling.
Ryusei kisses you even harder, but a sudden motion from the bus pushes you apart—it makes you jerk your head back in a sudden clear-minded realisation that you two are still on a public bus. You scramble back slightly—but Ryusei only pulls you back forward towards him.
You gather your thoughts and push back on his chest, "Ryusei—we're still on a fucking bus. Don't get too handsy." Your voice is a strained whisper, and you really pray that out of all times, this will be the one where he finally listens to you—
—Of course, that does not happen. You don't know who you were fooling.
"I don't give a fuck what that bus driver sees," his voice is husky, low and sends shivers jolting down your spine. "He'd be lucky to catch a glimpse of ya. Not that I'd let him."
Ryusei raises his hand. "Open." He motions towards your mouth.
Usually, you'd give him a look. perhaps even insult him, with a snarky quip, Who do you think you are? Treating me like a dog, you think you're that great? Really, even a simple, Get away from me, was more likely to pass through your lips than anything else.
But this time was not usual, not at all.
You part your lips hesitantly—slowly—but Ryusei is an impatient man. He presses the rough pad of his thumb down on your tongue and watches as the muscle twitches beneath his touch. The dip between his thumb and index finger slot perfectly against your chin—it's a breath-taking touch—even though it is simply just hard to breathe without your mouth closing.
His satisfied smile is all you can see before he lowers his head, mouth directly on the spot Isagi made just a few nights before.
A peak of sunlight shines into your eyes from the bus windows as you bite back soft groans—Ryusei licks at your neck and you don't think you could ever forget this moment.
Shidou Ryusei—somebody who cares not for societal standards, for what's considered normal—somebody who moves to his own rhythm and will not lie for anybody.
He loves with so much intensity, so much passion and fierceness that it scares regular people—it must be a good thing that you're so irregular. Perhaps he's known this since he's met you, and perhaps that's how you've gotten yourself into such a predicament.
Even so, he is soft.
The one touching your face so featherlight, the one whose bright pink eyes are boring into your own with a fire flickering behind his irises—is none other than Shidou Ryusei.
Shidou Ryusei—the antennaed freak, the bumbling insect, the demon—is soft, for you.
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note: snarls i hate this so much GYATTT I HATE THIS no more gay rights guys shiodu doesn't deserve rights
(jokes i like girls no homophobic!!!)
no but seriously this chapter was the death of me im not doing this for a good while anymore guys enjoy it while it lasts.