80. SPEEDING BULLET

note: gang i swear im getting to work. sigh. its just that ive lost motivation after recieving so much verbal abuse from these other blue lock authors cough liva cough. sigh. 

only the real ones know if u keep me going 🔥‼️‼️‼️ fake friends dhmu

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YOU

are not sure what to do. Your stomach is twisting and turning and you feel like if you take any more steps you are going to collapse. Rin pulled away from you—snarling—without a word and stomped off with as much anger as you've ever seen within him.

He is always so angry. You would ask what his deal is—but you already know he has some major problems that he, nor you, can fix.

So, you don't react and choose to watch in silence and he takes his leave—as if nothing had happened and as if you were nothing.

You sigh.

Rin feels so wholly unloving—yet, he traces your face with so much fondness it makes you sick—you can never get a good read on Itoshi Rin. To stare at you with so much coldness and then prickle light kisses along your neck—what is he thinking?

You don't want to think about it. You can't think about it at all, actually, because when you do—it makes your chest ache painfully and your head spins like crazy.

You clutch your beating skull and walk away—face flushed red and eyes squeezed shut.

In fact, your eyes are closed so tightly, and your vision so dark—you do not see the little speeding bullet that crashes right into you with the full force of a raging bull—yet, the size of a small teen.

Your eyes only snap open when sneaky hands wrap around your waist and tug you away—irises widening in shock and lips parting as you stare downwards—it's a small boy. Pale, blonde hair and bright yellow eyes—he's grinning devilishly and a fang sticks out from the side of his lip.

"😈💯‼️"

What???

You have absolutely no idea how he even just said that—or, for that matter, what he even said—but all you can process is the bright blonde head of hair that jumps up and down in front of you—excitement radiating off of him like radioactive waves.

"😍❗🔥‼️‼️"

"Huh?" The words finally force their way out of your mouth and you stare down at the young-looking kid who is rushing around like a hyperactive baby. You finally manage to stabilise him after a few more moments of him leaping—hands on his shoulders and staring down at his bright blonde head of hair.

"What the hell is your problem??" Your eyes narrow down—lips curling downwards and brows furrowed—he does not seem to be visibly affected by your hard look. His smile is still as bright as ever when he replies to you.

"You're [name]!" He says, excitedly, as if you had not known this fact. "You're just how Loki described!"

Well, you could gather two things from his words.

One—this little kid knows you, and he knows you a little better than you know him.

Two—Loki has talked about you TO this little kid, and he talks about you even when you are not there. The thought makes you feel a little embarrassed and a little worried about what he may say about you.

Your expression must have been one of confusion, because he looks up at you, giddy, and starts to explain—"I wanted to meet you for so long! Bastard Munchen's manager—"

His eyes shimmer, and you could not be more confused.

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"I saw you kissing Rin."

This little boy—who you've learned goes by the name Charles Chevalier—is looking up at you with a sneaky, foxish, expression. You're staring down at him distastefully, hand on your hip and head rolled to the side. "Really, now?"

You've decided you're not the biggest fan of Charles, either. He reminds you too much of a person—ahem, ahem, Shidou—and he's not endearingly young in the same way Niko is—he is quite the ball of energy.

"Nope!"

You blink, "What?"

"Hehe, JK!"

You don't know what he means by that, but you presume it is something like a joke—because he laughs hysterically afterwards. It echoes throughout the PXG halls, and you are silent beside it. You raise a single brow, "So, you did?"

"I dunno! I'm just a contrarian!" He sticks his tongue out and holds his arms behind the back of his head. "I just kinda assumed. Seeing your reaction, I was totally right!"

A contrarian, huh? 

Looking at him now, it's not all that surprising.

Your cheeks blare pink and you suddenly feel the need to hide your face. He giggles, swinging lightly from side to side, "But I don't really care. Rin's too boring for me, anyway." He stares up at you. "Are you boring like him? Merodi says you're not, and she's totally fun!"

Ah, now you get it. He's that kind of kid—one that will look up to somebody as eccentric and plain troublesome as Merodi and think that she's the coolest person in the world. Well, it wouldn't do you wrong to entertain him.

"I don't think I'm boring," you say, looking to the side. "I'm quite fun, actually."

"Really?" Charles looks to be in awe—yet, slightly sceptical. He pouts—it's quite cute, paired with the canine that sticks out the side of his lip—and places his chin in his hands. "Hm... Prove it!"

You scrunch up your nose, "How?"

Charles smiles—unlike that of his usual impish grin—it has curled up wickedly and you suddenly get a wave of flashbacks to your time with the horny demon, "I'll show you!"

And this is how you had gotten yourself into the starkly strange situation you are in at this very moment. You are right beside Charles, crouched behind a basket of soccer balls and your knees hurt from the sitting position you are in right now—the teen boy in question is peeking his yellow eyes over the mountain of soccer balls with a smile.

"How much longer?"

You two have been sitting here for well over twenty minutes now, and having this strange little kid talk your ear off is not how you were planning to spend your "off" day.

He'd decided, the way you were going to show that you were fun, is by helping him prank Karasu. The only reasoning he gave was, "Karasu made fun of my height on our first day here, so I'm just getting back at him!" You did not question him further, because you believed that yeah, it was something the sneaky, stupid crow would actually do.

He glances over at you, eyes twinkling, "Training starts now! He should be here soon!"

You peek up over the balls and squint your eyes. It's bright. You're glad you're sitting here in the shadows, rather than that blinding square. Not even Noa turns the lights on that high—you wonder what Loki's deal is.

You finally catch sight of the soon-to-be-victim—towel hanging loosely over his shoulder and he's saying something to Merodi (who, by the way, is clearly not listening if only judging by the earplugs she's stuck in her ears).

He's smirking, and it's ever so temping to wipe it off his face.

"See!" Charles's head is right beside yours, and he has a malicious glint in his eye. "Now, just wait for him to come closer... and we'll toss it!"

By it, he must mean the container of slime you and he had made for an hour before this happened—you finally realise what Charles is planning to do with both Karasu and the slime. You could almost cry from how evil it is. You love it. 

Charles mimicks winding up and tossing as soon as Karasu has his back turned towards you all—you slap your hand over your mouth in an uncharacteristic motion to hold back a giggle. You duck down as quick as your body allows when he glances over his shoulder—but luckily, the crow and his sneaky eye do not catch you—this time.

"Throw it!" He whispers, eyes darting from you to the container of green slime.

You send him a hard glare in return, eyes narrowing and lips moving on their own, "Why don't you throw it?!" You make sure to emphasize your words, even in a hushed whisper.

Charles gives you a huffy and annoyed pouty look—fang sticking out from the corner of his top lip as he mumbles, "'Cause! This was all to prove if you were really fun or not!"

This kid really is strange.

Maybe you are strange too, however. You shuffle around and peek your head out from behind the basket—eyes focused on your target. He's standing like a mildly pregnant woman—hand on his hip and leaning back on his heel—you could laugh, but then you believe the consequences of him finding out may be more dire than your amusement could overtake.

You stick your hand out behind you and make a grabby motion towards the slime—Charles giggles and slaps the sticky substance into your hand—to stop it from pouring out, you immediately wind your arm back and throw the sopping substance with as much force as you can physically muster.

It flies out of your hands and moves at a faster rate than anything you've ever seen—Merodi makes eye contact with you and gasps, slapping her hands over her mouth as the slime hits the target you set at the back of Karasu's head.

It does not stick. It does not even latch itself there. It slides right off.

You could've busted a blood vessel from how hard you began to laugh, and how hard you slapped your hand over your mouth when the slime slid off the back of his head and hit the ground behind him.

You think Charles also nearly burst a blood vessel—except this time, he does not bother to hide his cackles and suddenly there is a cacophony of laughter sounding from behind a basket filled with soccer balls. 

You don't even get a chance to see Karasu nor Merodi's reaction—you just assume since you hear the cackling coming from the tanned woman and a stark squelch of Karasu's foot colliding with the slime—they have found you two out.

You hold your stomach and laughter bubbles from your lips like waterfalls and tears bead in the corner of your eyes.

You crack your eyes open when light sears into your skin—you see the deadpan expressions of both Loki and Karasu above you, but you've never laughed harder.

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"Aha—" You place a hand over your beating chest, a smile lifting up your lips. "Sorry again, for all this. I just thought it would be fun."

Merodi, who is standing behind Loki, gives up a huge thumbs up and waves her arms around wildly yet uncharacteristically silently. When Loki raises a brow and glances backward at her, she pulls her arms back and pretends she is not doing anything. You laugh lightly at the exchange, but continue speaking, "I'm sorry if I disrupted your practice."

Loki looks stern for a moment—in eerie, slightly awkward silence—but his features soon relax and soften like molten honey as he stares at you and your expression, "It's fine. It's not like I get to see you everyday, after all—and you make this practice a little bit brighter."

He smiles, and your tense shoulders instantly relax as you follow his gaze towards where Karasu has Charles in a nougie and is calling him a pipsqueak. You smile at the sight again before you turn back to Loki.

"Well, as long as you aren't mad at me," You smile.

He looks back at you with those golden eyes. "I could never be mad at you, [name]."

You'd be lying if you said your heart didn't skip a beat. Even so, you do not let it show and simply swallow your flush and hide it behind a perfectly practiced smile. "Likewise. It's been too long."

He nods. "Right. I've missed your company. It's quiet difficult to send letters through the same place, ah?" His tone is lilting on a teasing tone, light and joyful and you've never heard anything better.

"Yeah," You nod, arms folded under your chest. "By the way, Julien, is there anything you'd like to say to me? I've been wondering since this morning."

He pauses, still smiling languidly and stares right in front of him as he talks. He is looking right at the tussling players, but you have a stark feeling he is talking to you.

"I..." His eyes flutter shut. "I will tell you after our game. After PXG wins against Bastard... I will tell you everything I feel. Is that okay?"

Your hands clam up and your throat dries, but you manage to force out an answer anyway, "Sure, but... there is no way my team... will not win against yours."

And with that, he laughs—a pretty sound that echoes throughout the training room and nothing has ever sounded lovelier ringing in your ears.

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note: found cult save me save me found cult