tsk

you marched angrily in the blue lock hallways with a scowl on your face as you held your stomach in pain

'man, why now of all times'

why the day of your first match?!

it was your time of the month

you entered the women's bathroom walking over to the pad dispenser

going into one of the bathroom stalls, you put on the pad and headed out to where the team were picking out the position

when you entered the room, it was chaos

everyone seemed to be arguing for who was going to play as center forward

you knew you weren't going to be much use in your state so you made no move to join in

they all finally agreed on player 'rock, paper, scissors', winner gets to pick his position

isagi was the one to win and of course, he picked center forward

"Alright, isagi will be our center forward for this match" kuon spoke

"can we really win with isagi as our focal point, his rank is really low" igaguri complained

"still we have an extra player so someone has to bench" chigiri pointed out

you rose your left hand up while your other remained on your stomach "I'll be sub, I'm not really feeling good"

after the confirmation, they all proceeded to pick their own positions

your team walked towards the field with confidence while you headed out to the side

cramps were getting worst and worst and it was starting to get on your nerves

your period always put you in a horrible mood

our team was starting with the ball and when all players from both teams were positioned, a whistle rung stating that the game had started

Bachira who had the ball stabled under his right foot proceeded to pass it to his right where isagi was place

isagi started running with the ball, that was before raichi came up from behind and stole the ball away

"what are you doing, Raichi!" raichi stops and turns to show a menacing expression "top scorer gets through, right? I couldn't care less about this team. I'm doing this on my own"

'yeah no, we're fucked' you thought with a deadpan

"now you're talking, raichi" kunigami joined in as he stole the ball from raichi

'you two ginger, thought you were the reasonable one'

then players from both teams started jumping in, all in war for possession of the ball

that was until a player from the other team stole the ball and ran out of the brawl

number 10...

he broke through team Z's team defence as if it was child's play and scored his team a goal

"now listen to me suckers" he started "to me, the ball isn't my friend or any of that bullshit"

"it's like a servant who's only purpose is to make me shine" he said with his hands out "on the field, i an the king."

this goal seemed to motivate team X to work together, while team Z only seemed to crumble

'this is just pitiful'

4-0 and we only have 20 minutes left

'I'm in a team full of morons' your irritation only seemed to worsen by the second

"Naruhaya! Switch with me!" you shout out to the male

"huh, why!?" he shout back turning to you before freezing up at your expression

"Player substitution, number 5 and number 3" spoke the speaker

"hey I thought you weren't feeling well" kuon spoke up to you

you stayed silent whilst stretching your arms and legs before standing up straight

kick off

bachira passes to isagi

"Isagi" your voice rung from behind "pass me the ball"

"huh, but you're on defence" he said in confusion

you took the ball out of his grasp and ran up

you weren't thinking rationally

your mind was blank

team X's defence came for you but you simply weaved in between the player, ball still in your possession

number 10

he was coming straight for you, red eyes glowing

as he was about to take the ball from you, you nutmegged him

you were now in your shooting zone

about 29 meters from the goal

you took your shot

whistle

4-1

you looked back to your team

"if your going to be useless then...

...stay out of my way"

your eyes were glowing (f/c) and we're menacingly wide

isagi felt a shiver run down his spine

'I'm going to kill someone' you thought, your cramps were getting to you and you were trying to ignore the pain 'damn'

team X started with the ball

as they made their way over to your side, some blue haired guy tried passing over the ball to his open teammate on the left

not happening

you stole the ball as it was about to reach the opponent

the other team threw their defence on you, but you couldn't care less about your teammates positions or whether they were free to pass to or not

your eyes lowered and an intense pressure was put onto team X's players which caused them to falter in their moment of rush

you ran through the opposing team's side as they could only stand frozen in fear

team Z was in shock

we're you some kind of monster

you weren't even considering teamwork

they were just deadweight to you

and it was as if the field belonged to you

and what was the other team doing

why wasn't anyone attacking you or the defending

you ran through opposing team's side until barou broke out of his trance and started running towards your figure

he had a demonic expression on his face, but not even his desperation or speed was much to stop you

you reached the goal and the goalie could only stand in shock as you shot the ball past his face

another one

both teams stood frozen as you walked back to your side and walked up to naruhaya

"switch back I'm done" you spoke

you wanted to continue but your body couldn't suppress the pain anymore

you sat down and continued watching the match

with 4-2 with 10 minutes left, catching up wasn't entirely impossible

right..?

Team X started off with the ball again

you watched as team Z still couldn't seem to work together

they were just running all over the place

on contrary team X played well and organized

whistle

you stared with a blank expression at the score board

5-2

number 10 had scored again

we're they really this incompetent without you on the field

there's no way Ego thought you were on the same level as these people

you refused to believe it

team Z got to start off with the ball

isagi positioned the ball in front of him, when he turned to what seemed bachira talking to him

he then passed the ball over to bachira and made a run for team X's net

'what the hell are they doing' you thought '3 goals in 3 minutes is simply impossible and the rest of the team has given up so what are they up to'

bachira seemed to be stalling the ball till he shot it up and it landed on isagi's foot

you straightened up with expectations in your eyes

maybe not everyone in this team was hopeless

isagi rushed towards the goal only thing in mind was to score a goal

but of course, it wasn't going to be as simple as they anticipated

"hey number 11" came the voice of barou "don't stand out more than me"

"I told you, I'm the king" he said fire burning in his eyes

raichi then came from his left side "isagi, behind you!"

kunigami came from his right side with a defender on his back "pass it to me!"

isagi had three choices

manage to somehow get past barou from the front

pass raichi to his left side with the most likely shot

or pass to kunigami on his right defender on him

isagi then passed the ball right

'he won't reach that' your face blanked

kunigami positioned his left foot back then kicked the ball with tremendous force

'I forgot about the strength he holds in his left' you sweat dropped agape

Whistle

5-3

"Eat that!" Kunigami cheered

raichi then held isagi up from his jersey seemingly complaining about why he hadn't passed to him instead, but isagi looked just as shocked as him

'guess the pass wasn't intentional'

in the locker room

"it was a mistake putting isagi up front" raichi said with a scowl "I'll be up front next match"

"no, we'd win if I was center forward" naruhaya shimmed in

it was straight up chaos in the changing rooms

everyone complaining about their position

you looked over at isagi

he seemed down

your eyes travelled down to his body

"yeah no" you muttered looking over to the side

kuon then started a speech about how the first selection was going to go and how we were doomed if we didn't start getting serious now

"you got any ideas, then? Igaguri questioned

"not exactly..."

"I have something" kunigami joined the conversation "I couldn't have scored my goal without bachira and isagi. that should lead us"

"oh save it, you just wanna be the team's top scorer!" scram raichi

"but it was amazing"

your eyes followed where the voice had come from

naked bachira

your eyes stayed glued on him till you finally turned

man this guy was perfectly sculpted

you had to calm yourself down for a few seconds

turning back to listen to the conversation, cheeks still tinted in red but the blank expression remained

"but still, it wasn't the best goal of the day" he pointed to your figure "miss center of attention over there had us all frozen in our seats"

attention turned to you

"yeah what was that during the match" raichi turned to you same scowl on his face

"what was what"

"what you pulled in the match dimwit!" he shouted "you had the whole team X frozen, even that number 10"

"her stare was terrifying" igaguri trembled at the memory

"and her voice was so icy, I swear I felt like I wasn't even allowed to breath anymore" Imamura held his head in a shiver

"I don't know" you looked to the side "I was just pissed off and let out my anger on the field"

"either way, how are we supposed to work with a team full of forwards" sigh Imamura

"I don't think everything that Ego guy said is right" chigiri started "talking about how to win the World Cup, throwing on names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi and Cantona, but none of them have ever won the World Cup"

"Still, I don't get what he meant when he said 'this is a battle about creating soccer from zero'"

isagi then got up and proceeded to explain his theory on what he thought Ego meant by turning 0 into a 1 in soccer"

"Very good, you're getting there" Ego popped up on the tv "hello there diamonds in the rough, the second match in this building just finished"

"Team V beat team Y 8-0"

everyone stood in shock at the results, some in shock, some excitement, some without reaction

Ego went ahead and started a speech about what turning 0 into a 1 was and that we had to focus on our individual skills

you weren't paying much attention, only to the important details and what you deemed interesting

"In soccer, scoring a goal is destroying another team's means of structure" he let out a creepy smile "which makes a striker a destroyer"

after a bit more talking, he left, leaving everyone in the room in silence thinking about his words

you stood next to chigiri a bit further from the circle team Z had made

"my weapon is my magnificent shooting techniques" raichi pointed to himself "and my motto is: Sexy Soccer"

uh

"mine is getting behind"

"mine is... getting physical" gagamaru seemed to be questioning himself

"I'm an all-rounder"

"mine is my 'never giving up attitude" igaguri proudly tapped his chest

"mines the power in my left foot"

'called it'

bachira's head fell on your lap whilst saying "dribbling..." and fell asleep

'at this point I've gotten used to him' you looked down at him

then a flashback from earlier popped up in your mind and you immediately looked away

"mine is jumping" Kuon nodded as he wrote down everyone's specialties "and you, Isagi?"

"I'm not so sure... uh" he scratched his cheek

"You're doomed. Next" raichi brushed him off

"Chigiri" kuon called and you turned to face him

"not saying"

"but that's the whole point of this conversation" igaguri questioned "I know, but I'm still not saying"

"ignore the selfish queen" he looked over at you "what about you"

you debated on whether you wanted to tell them about your actual skill or just say something like 'dribbling' and 'precision'

"Precision"

"Alright then, that's everyone" kuon finalized his notes

you walked into the cafeteria in hopes of getting something to eat before going to sleep

you caught sight of isagi sitting alone, you hadn't gotten to talk to him ever since the first day, so you decided to join him

"hey isagi" you waved "still getting nato"

"yeah, that's all you get when your rank is next to last" he stared at his food with a sweat drop "what's up"

"you seemed to be in trance after the game so I came to check it out" you shrugged "seems that pass at the end wasn't intentional was it, you meant to score"

he started at you before looking down at his plate "yeah, I was originally going for the goal but my mind seemed to blank and I just passed it unconsciously"

hm

"Could I ask you a question?" you nod at him "why do you play soccer"

why do I play soccer?

"uh, I guess you could say it's to..." your eyes lowered and glowed (f/c)

"...prove my worth to the dimwits who've always doubted my talent in soccer and the fact that I played for males instead of females" your body began emitting an (f/c) aura

"they're so focused on gender, they can't seem to acknowledge the natural talent someone has and I'm here to put down all these people by making it into japan's national team and win the World Cup"

you stared intensely into isagi's eyes while he could only stare back

"then again, it's just a game I've always admired as a kid" you brushed off your early words

isagi was still in shock staring at your figure with wide eyes 'she's got such a strong resolve, yet I'm here doing nothing with my time here'

you heard a voice over on your left side "good work today, isagi"

it was kunigami who came to your table "still getting nato"

that's what I said

"Have you had dinner yet?" isagi asked

"yeah, just ate" he responded "I came over to talk to you"

he thanked isagi for the pass in earlier's game and was about to head out till isagi asked him the same question as you "why do you play soccer"

"What kind of question is that" kunigami blankly stared at isagi

yeah, yeah they had their conversation about whatever then kunigami left and came back with a plate of steak in his hands

"here have some, I owe half the goal to you" he put half the steak on isagi's rice

"isagi" isagi was more focused on the smell of the steak "why did you pass me the ball, I'm pretty sure raichi was more open than me"

"I kind of did it unconsciously" he looked up at him "like a reflex"

"I felt like if I had passed it to raichi, nothing would've changed with barou in front of us"

"you could say I smelled a goal if I could set up a mid-range shot for you" he smiled "I was sure you'd make it with the strength your left leg held the first day"

"Isagi" they both turned over to you, "I think your weapon is your proprioception"

'huh' they stared at you

"spatial awareness," you said "you were well aware of your surroundings, the position of your teammates, your opponents and where you'd pass the ball without wasting any movements"

"despite it being a 'reflex' like you said, that pass was exact" you continued "and I think a more appropriate definition of 'smelling a goal' is your quick thinking and decision-making in a game"

isagi seemed to be thinking it over while kunigami proceeded to take a bite out of his food "this is crazy good!"

he turned over to isagi "try it!"

isagi took in a bite "man, this is hella good!"

kunigami then held a piece out to you and you leaned over to take a bite

"oh wow!" you inwardly blushed, but then turned over to cover your joy 'embarrassing, I wanted to be known as the calm collected nonchalant girl here'

"Thanks, kunigami, you're a nice guy" you thanked the male with a cough on your wrist to push away the blush from earlier

"nice.." he muttered and tried to look away from you, blush coating his cheeks

"weak for compliments now are we" you stared into his eyes with a barely visible smile

"oh shut it, let me eat so I can head to bed" he looked away from you

"oh and for our next game" he put his fist out to isagi "we'll win it for sure"

isagi fist-bumped him "yeah!"

"you two (y/n)" they held out their free fist to you "let's win our next game"

"Sure" you chucked lightly, fist-bumping the two of them with both your fist

'it was about time these people started acting like an actual team and not like a bunch of wild animals' you stared with a smile