56. DAY OFF!

note: YALL DONT KNOW HOW LONG I WAS WAITING FOR THIS OMGGMGMGM

this is mostly about the manager babes and you.... but uh... yk dont skip this chapter because we all love the managers and this is very helpful in like determining their personalities for later chapters... 

soo plsss dont skip i know how you wattpadians are you dont read anything that isn't hardcore making out (me too but still) please guys!!!! 

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YOUR

sisters crash into your room and grab at your makeup with greedy little fingers, that are only stopped when you swat them away.

"Owch!" The younger one, who's the ripe age of 8, whines, rubbing her aching fingers with pouty cheeks. The older one, aged 14, huffs, eyes half-lidded as she looks away. 

"Not cool, [name]! You were away for so long... now you're being mean to us!"

You hide your smile behind an indifferent expression. Despite this—you ruffle her hair. You can't help but feel happy at the fact you're home with your siblings once again. "Because I need this stuff. I'm going out soon."

"Why are you leaving when you just came back?!" Your youngest sister grabs onto the back of your tank top with grabby hands—pulling at the fabric and frowning. "You should spend time with us, instead!"

You sigh, dabbing some powder onto your face. "I know, I know. I will. I'm just meeting up with my friends. I promise, tomorrow, I'll go shopping with you two, okay?"

"Yay!" They both simultaneously cheer, and you can't help the grin that stretches across your face.

"Since we're totally rich now, because of your fancy job, can we buy some makeup for me, too?" Your slightly older-younger sister asks with sparkles in her eyes. 

You look over your shoulder, fixing your hair, "Sure. Just don't tell mom, okay? She'll get mad."

"Ok—!! My lips are sealed!!" She grins.

You stand up, off your bed and dust off your flared pants, giving them a little twirl. "Okay. How do I look?"

"Super ugly!" Your youngest sister sticks her tongue out at you, like the child that she is.

"Cute." The teenager gives you a thumbs up from where she sits cross-legged on your bed. You flick the forehead of your baby-sister and roll your eyes.

"Whatever. Thanks." You reach for your purse, slipping in your power and a puff beside it, before grabbing for your phone and slipping on a thick, fur-trimmed woollen jacket.

Walking out of your room, you call out over your shoulder, "I'm going to go to Shibuya now. I'll catch a train and be back in a few hours."

You catch sight of your mom watching you from across the hall. As soon as your eyes meet, she looks away with a pained expression. "Stay safe," she says, before disappearing behind a wall.

 Your heart squeezes, and your chest starts to hurt, but you swallow thick and push it down. I'm going out to have fun. You remind yourself, and a smile spreads across your lips at the thought of your friends. The other managers. 

You grab your keys and slip them into your pocket, opening your front door and walking into the outside world, finally out of that prison.

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Shibuya—the heart of Tokyo, and one of the biggest shopping districts in Japan. A tourist attraction—and a very, very popular hang-out spot, it seemed.

You step off of the train and take in your surroundings. The fresh, outside air. It fills your lungs and you can practically feel your skin growing clearer (the Blue Lock air was almost as bad as the air within school buildings).

You feel so refreshed.

You never thought your life would have changed so much because of such a simple job offering. 

Everyone's come so far... 

You smile. We all deserve this break. I can't wait to see the others. I wonder what their personal style is like.

You walk out of the train station, and immediately you find yourself within a large crowd, swallowed by the sheer amount of people walking forward, backward, in and out of shops. You somehow manage to push your way to the place where everyone else is supposed to be (since you're already running a few minutes late, you're sure everyone is there already).

A big, tall, imposing mall. 

You brought a lot of money with you today because you had a feeling this would be happening. 

You're going shopping.

A voice rings out through the mass of people walking through the building, "Wait! Guys, I think that's [name]!" 

Another voice can be heard when you walk a little closer—more hushed than the first, "Yeah! Oh my gosh, that shirt is so cute!"

"She's right there! [NAME]!" Your name is yelled out extremely loudly—in a voice you can only recognise as the punk rock manager of Blue Lock. Merodi waves her arms around wildly, clad in a laced crop top that showed her cleavage, a silver-lined leather jacket, a short, pleated skirt, fishnet stockings and long fur boots that reached up to her knees. 

She seemed to have even more piercings than when she was in Blue Lock, and you couldn't even begin to count the various necklaces, bracelets and rings she had on her body. Her makeup was dark and bold—sharp winged liner and pitch-black lipgloss—just from looking at her, she looked like she stepped out of a death metal album.

None of the others were dressed as intensely as her. She had such a unique sense of style—you couldn't help but admire it.

"Stop yelling," Himara, the green, wavy-haired manager shakes her head, dark eyes closing when she pinches the bridge of her nose. "You're causing a scene as always, Merodi."

"Okay, but, you love me!" The brown-skinned girl pokes at Himara—who does not take kindly to her actions.

"I... never said that."

Himara was dressed plainly—perhaps it represented her personality, just as the outfits of the other managers did—a brown cardigan over a v-lined white shirt and a long dark grey skirt that reached her ankles. There was nothing very outstanding about her outfit, but it fit her all the same.

"[name]!" Kyouka runs over to you with wide, excited eyes. She was dressed cutely—a light blue, ruffled denim skirt and a cropped buttoned pink sweater. A bag was slung around her shoulder—a very expensive brand, Chrome Hearts, a very rich-kid thing of her to do—and a pink orb necklace from Vivienne Westwood around her neck.

She wore her hair up with a hair claw, contrary to her usual appearance in Blue Lock (yet still kept the colourful hairclips in her bangs all the same), and had on knee-high boots, just like Merodi, except they were sleek and leather. It made her look slightly taller.

Still shorter than me, though, you snort, and it causes her to give you a confused look. You clear your throat, and smile, "It's nice to see you too, Kyouka. Is everyone here?"

Komi nods, "Yes. We haven't been waiting too long for you, though."

Komi looked... like a bookworm. That's the only way you could describe her. Shiny pearl earrings hidden slightly by the hair she left swept around her face, outside her bun—she wore a beige turtle-neck sweater that was probably a bit too tight, and black flared leggings that flared atop a low, black heel. Her nails were painted a deep red.

Beside her was the cool-headed girl, Jenny. She had her hair done in a plait that flowed down her back, and wore a shirt with a band you didn't recognise, and underneath, wore black cargo pants and white sneakers. A comfy, yet stylish outfit. "Hey. She's lying, we were practically waiting hours."

"No, that's just because you came early." Komi gives her a sharp glare back, which only elicits laughter from the royal-blue-haired girl.

Their styles all seemed to match them perfectly—and looking down at your own choice of clothes, you wonder if you were lacking. "Well, I'm here now. Are we going to go shopping?"

"Um, is the president of the JFA old and fat? Hell yeah!" Merodi pumps her fist up in the air, black nails clutched around her palm. "I heard that this shopping mall has the best stores in Japan! I got hella money 'cause we were stuck in Blue Lock for so long, I need to spend it otherwise I'll go insane!"

"Right?" Kyouka nods, lips pulled up. She fiddles with the strap of her luxury bag. "Well, most of that money got put into my savings account... My mom gave me only a bit of it to spend today."

"Yeah? How much?" Komi makes the mistake of asking the token rich girl how much money she has. You mentally prepare yourself to hear a ridiculous number.

Without wasting a breath, and with a smile so sweet, she says, "454,254 yen." (key: 3000 USD)

Your jaw practically falls to the ground with how hard it snaps open. You blink at her in absolute shock, followed by your fellow managers who all either gape in silence or yell out in surprise.

"EXCUSE ME???" Merodi's face is so laughably mortified that if you weren't so taken aback yourself, you would've snorted. "ONLY A BIT???"

She falls backwards, caught by Jenny.

"Really?" Kyouka looks so genuinely surprised that it makes you choke on your breath. Komi balls up her hands in a fist and punches you in the back so that you don't end up dying, especially by choking on nothing. "I didn't think it was that much... is it bad?" Her cheeks flush pink and she looks so embarrassed. 

Komi steps forward and places a hand on her shoulder, as the smaller girl starts fiddling with the ends of her sleeves, "No, no... we just didn't expect it. It's totally fine."

Big sis Komi to the rescue... Jenny places a hand on her chin. Her eyes brighten up as Merodi regains her stance and Jenny points forward, "Yeah. We should totally get going now! We have a super big day ahead of us. I wanna go to every store here!"

"Me too." Himara nods, smiling.

"I heard there's a nice cafe around here..."

"I wanna buy a new guitar!"

"I always wanted some red heels!"

"Ooh, look at that lipgloss! I want it!"

"Oh my gosh, wait—that shirt is adorable!"

Yeah. You made a good choice in bringing all that money. Still, though, you can't help the warmth that fills your chest when you look at the sight of your starry-eyed friends.

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Merodi lets out a loud, chest-heaving sigh of relief, a large, clearly over-filled bag slung around her shoulders, "Whew! I am like... probably in debt now. Hehe... Worth it!"  She snickers evilly, a pearly white grin peeking from beneath her lips.

Kyouka's smiling guilelessly with a bag of her own, "That was so fun! Shopping with you guys is the best."

Right. You remember now—what Kyouka told you.

* You finish your words with a fond smile, which makes her cheeks flare even redder, and she sinks deeper into the water, eyes closed shut tightly. "Thank you, [name]... I'm... really glad I met you... I never thought I'd have such a close friend in a place like this."

Kyouka's always felt so lonely—but in a place like this, of all places, she's found where she's fit in. The thought makes you smile. Despite everything, you still care deeply for Kyouka—and seeing her happy makes you happy too. 

Everyone has come so far. Including me. 

It feels surreal.

"Well, we're all done here, right?" Komi, who really didn't buy anything at all (in fact, you're sure the only thing she showed mild interest in was a cookbook from a shop you all happened to pass by) spares you all a sweet grin, thumb jerked behind her. "How about we go to the arcade now? I heard they just got a new game in."

Merodi gasps, childish wonder gleaming in her eyes as she pumps her fists up (somehow, despite the weight she's carrying), "Oh my god, yes! I freakin' love Pac-Man!"

"That's so old-school," Jenny laughs. You hadn't realised when each of you had turned around and started walking (actually, you had no clue where you were going, but you'd trust in them), "What, you think Space Invader is the greatest thing to bless humanity since sliced bread?"

"Um, yes, well, I do, actually! I don't take criticism, actually. It was. Better than Plants Vs Zombies, that's for sure."

Himara places a hand atop her chest and shoots Merodi a boiling hot glare, "Plants Vs Zombies is a game development masterpiece that cannot be understood by simpleton hooligans such as yourself."

"Why are you so mad for???"

"I actually think those punching bag games are really fun!" Kyouka perks up with a cute smile, making everyone look at her in shock for the second time today. It seemed she just had a knack for surprising everyone around her (really, you should try to start expecting the unexpected from somebody like Kyouka), "What??"

"Seriously... you like them?" Jenny looks at the girl up and down. You'd be lying if you said you weren't thinking the same thing as her.

Not to sound brash—but Kyouka was, to put it in better words, built like a stick. She was slim, very slim, and surely did not look like she could hold up even her own body weight. With lithe arms and long fingers, you wonder what her high score must be in such a game.

Kyouka fiddles with the ends of her bangs face flushed, "Well... yeah... is that strange? Is it weird for a girl to like a game like that?"

"No, not at all." Komi shakes her head with a neutral expression. Big sis Komi, to the rescue! "It's absolutely normal."

"You know what else is normal? Not Merodi." 

"Ummm excuse meeeee? You wanna go? Meet me outside the arcade in twenty. Let's go and throw down."

"You make it sound like we're gonna fuck."

"Okay and do you see a problem with that?"

"Wh—Yes???"

Laughter bubbles out of your lips in waves—this time, you're not laughing alone. Here, with all your friends that you've made, and without the friends you've lost on the way—you suddenly feel a warmth blooming in your chest, and you really do feel like you've found your place.

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note: this might have been boring if u want romance. my bad. but whatever. i love domestic hangouts. this is based off an experience i had with my friends so it feels even more special to me yk. 

also lesbiasns yumm

* 24 — BONDS