19. BYE BYE, BACHIRA!

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IT'S

easy for somebody to get confused by Bachira's unpredictable patterns. The way he grins, laughs, talks, and even plays soccer, is strange in an almost amazing kind of way. He can dribble his way out of any situation—soccer or not. Even he gets you feeling confused at times, with the way he hides his words behind a wide grin, and the way he talks about his monster with such an excited expression—if you can say one thing for sure, it would be that Meguru Bachira is not an easily-predictable person. 

That's why you aren't too surprised at how Tokimitsu gets all muddled up and tongue-tied when he's in a 1v1 with Bachira—the boy dribbling the ball around his feet faster than your eye could catch. He easily slips past the bigger boy, meeting face-to-face with Rin. However—Rin doesn't even move as Bachira fakes him out, slipping the ball over his head towards Nagi.

Aryu appears behind Nagi, hair swaying gently in the wind (there's no wind in here??? you think, squinting at him, thoroughly confused) and the snow-haired boy notices. That's why he sends the ball back forward with the tip of his shoe, over to Isagi—who proceeds to blast it forward, past Aryu's head, into the goal with a straight shot.

Bachira runs up and slaps Isagi on the back, and you feel a weight lifting off your shoulders at how they both grin and laugh with each other. Maybe this won't be too bad. Maybe they could actually win. You feel your chest grow lighter—a bright spark of hope igniting within your stomach. Nagi gives Isagi a high-five with his regular nonchalant expression, and you meet Isagi's eyes after to give him a grin.

The ball finds its way back to the middle of the field, underneath Rin's heel. You can see his lips move to form words, but you can't quite catch what he's saying from your distance—you can only hear the blow of a whistle when he pelts the ball forward, into the goal behind your team. Your jaw positively drops at this show—and it seems, so does both his and your team's—and Komi splutters out a sentence after a second of silence.

"What... what even..." She wipes the lens of her glasses—like doing that will make that scene replay back in her mind—and with lips parted, watches how Rin takes the ball back casually from the net, walking past Isagi and your team with a cold look. He tosses it over his shoulder without so much as a glance—and it seems to take Isagi by surprise, catching it under his foot.

The whistle blows, and Isagi immediately passes to Bachira. Your team of three all run forward, and Bachira makes the ball travel over to Nagi—who compliments the elegance of his pass—before going for it. He's taken by surprise when Aryu jumps up, using his massive height to catch the ball atop his head and run forward when Tokimitsu takes ahold of the ball.

Tokimitsu squeals and plays hot potato with the ball on his toes for a few seconds because of how shocked he is that he actually got it—when Bachira dives forward on his back and throws off the course of the ball. It travels over to Isagi's way, and he catches it on his toes. Aryu comes up from behind him, towering over Isagi and blocking any path from behind—when, in a sudden motion, he swings his legs up from around Isagi's torso and pelts the ball forward into the goal, swiftly gaining his team a point.

You gape at that play, Doing that would usually result in a foul... but his legs are so long, that he can stretch them around Isagi. Wow. He should be on the basketball courts.

Aryu strikes a glamorous pose, sparkles flying around him (where did they even come from???) and causing him to shine brighter than anybody else on the field (how is he shining???). Isagi looks very bothered by the goal—but regains his composure and takes in a deep breath.

Komi has a pleased expression on her pretty face as she watches Aryu strike more ridiculous poses, lips stretched up into a close-lipped smile, "If Aryu has nothing else... he at least has his height. He's probably one of the top three tallest players here." You glance at her, brows raised in surprise at her commentary, but look back on the field, shoulder slumped.

That's no fair.

Once more, when the whistle blows, Isagi passes the ball over to Bachira. Bachira still has an excited expression on his face, even though you all were losing—he looked just as happy to be here as he did when he first arrived. Instead of his usual tactic of passing to Nagi and hoping for the best, Bachira decides to go in himself against Tokimitsu, seeming to poke fun at the big boy.

Tokimitsu looks like he's having a real mental breakdown when Bachira comes running at him, chewing on his thumbnail and screaming as he runs at him, eyes cloudy and he's sweating profusely. Bachira uses his lithe body to maneuver past Tokimitsu's more built one, but it proves to not matter in the end, when he uses his ridiculous speed (for somebody of his size, at least) and strength to physically halt Bachira.

He sweeps the ball away from under his feet and runs across the field, comically fast. He's almost like a raging bull—with the way he keeps chanting at how he needs a point, otherwise he'll be useless. Even Aryu and Nagi look more concerned than usual—as they watch Tokimitsu come running right at Isagi—and even at your distance, you can hear Tokimitsu scream at Isagi to get the hell out of the way. 

Tokimitsu easily runs right past Isagi (even as the boy tried to hold him back, which left your team's striker tumbled over) and blasts the ball into the goal, a pleased expression replacing his previous about-to-shit-himself one.

Nagi picks up the ball from the net and seems to have a talk with Isagi (and, despite his previous flabbergasted expression and defeated pose, he listens) as they both walk back to their spots. Komi makes a face—you catch it from the corner of your eye—and she tilts her head up, arms crossed under her chest. You scrunch up your nose and stare at her team, squinting at their uncomfortable aura.

None of them knew each other, and in some way, your team did—but they're still losing. They're just so exceptional by themselves, that they don't even need teamwork. Wow.

You never could've imagined a game of soccer playing out this way—not from your twelve-year-old self when you were playing with your best friend, and certainly not now. You dig your nail into your clothed thigh, a dry feeling in your mouth as you wonder how it feels to be that exceptional. Maybe, you think, maybe I would've been a bit more upset when I left.

The unfamiliar thought bugs you, but it passes quickly when the whistle blows, and Isagi passes over to Bachira. Each of the players (and their shadows on the other team) all form a triangular formation around Bachira, who looks around to see where the most optimal position of play is. Nagi receives the pass with ease, and with a fleeting touch, it's sent to Isagi, and then back to Bachira.

It's almost like they're toying with the other team. You can almost hear Komi's thoughts from her place beside you, with the way her face is all scrunched and concentrated. They're all gradually moving forward with each pass, even with the objectively better players beside them. Right up until they're in Isagi's preferred shooting range, and he dashes. But, he's abruptly stopped by Rin—even with his lack of involvement in this game—who gives him a pointedly bored look.

Bachira quickly changes the direction of his pass from Isagi to Nagi—a spin on the ball that is notably not stopped, but played with by Nagi from behind, and he runs up after that breath-taking play, slamming his foot into the ball, pelted by him into the net. You grin at this, folding one leg over the other while watching as both Isagi and Bachira celebrate the goal with him.

The whistle blows. Rin's mouth moves in slow motions once again, but you don't catch a word he says because you're taken by surprise at how the ball moves right from the mid-field, into the goal behind your team. Or, for a lack of better words, it would've, if not for the fact of Isagi running up and catching it with his head, the ball falling out of bounds.

Rin takes the corner kick, and this time, with much less surprise, he does not pass. He utilises a specified spinning shot that twists over everybody's head and gets right into the right corner of the goal, the force of the ball pushing back against the net. The bright blue lights flash across the whiteboard, and they only need one last point until they win. The reality sends a sinking feeling of dread in your stomach, but you shake it away and focus on the match in front of you.

Your team used their familiar triangle formation to run across the mid-field, Bachira passing over to Isagi once they had gotten close enough. Rin effortlessly runs along beside Isagi and catches the ball with his chest as Isagi watches with wide eyes. Rin runs along and, without even breaking a sweat, dodges both Nagi's and Bachira's attempts to out-maneuver him, and kicks the ball into the goal.

And just like that—in what felt like less than twenty minutes—Rin's team had won, and he didn't even look puffed out. More than anything—he looked bored. That revelation made your jaw drop and your lids blink rapidly as if it would change the scene in front of you. He made no unnecessary movements—and yet, it was like he planned everything out and it played out in front of his eyes. That's real scary.

The speaker blares the ending whistle, before screeching and echoing throughout the entire room, "The match is complete. The results of the three-on-three battle are: Team Red wins, 5 — 2."

Both you and Komi make your way onto the field, and she rushes up to Aryu, seeming excited and saying something positive to him—while you walk in solemn silence. Their shocked expressions—like they hadn't taken this all in—and their slumped bodies, crashed to the floor. Aryu flips his hair over his shoulder, giving each of the members of your team a sharp look. "Now, it's a question of which of these plebs we should pick."

Rin doesn't give any of you so much of a glance as he talks, hand resting on his hip and chest rising and falling just as evenly as ever—if you hadn't watched him before, you never would've believed he was playing a match of soccer. "I don't care. It won't make any difference."

Tokimitsu leans forward, looking up at Aryu and Komi with a hopeful grin, "Um... what do you think? I'm kinda feeling like we should take that guy."

"Oh? What a coincidence. I was also about to say I want him," Aryu nods, twirling a strand of his hair around his finger. Komi smiles, lips stretching up to her cheeks, and she also nods.

"He was probably the most impressive out there, even from what I could see." 

Aryu curls his finger upwards and looks directly at Bachira—a coy smile on his face as he beckons the boy to come over, "We want you, Meguru Bachira."

"Yeah! Your passes are extraordinary! Th—The three of us have individual skills, so if you join us, we'll be even stronger!" Tokimitsu grins wide, voice beaming with excitement. But he soon falters, slumping down and expression growing ghastly, "Aaah! I got carried away again! Please don't hate me!"

"True. My glamorous goals need assistance. You see—the field's a catwalk for me. Be my stagehand."

Komi sends him a bright smile, eyes squinted from behind her glasses lens, "Maybe, you could inspire some teamwork. It would be helpful."

Rin turns around on his heel promptly, grass crunching under his feet as he walks. "If you're all finished talking, then let's get moving." He peers over his shoulder at Bachira, gaze as firm as ever. "Don't go dozing off, bob-cut. From now on, your future is in my hands."

Rin walks through the winner's gate without so much as a second look, but it seems that Aryu and Tokimitsu have enough clarity to wait for Bachira to follow along. He slumps down, hair covering his face. 

"Aw man, and here I was, planning to be on Isagi's team right 'till the end." He sounds disappointed, it's clear in his tone, and Isagi mutters out his name longingly. Bachira sighs deeply, raising his gaze. "Guess I'll go. That is the rule. But, just to be clear, I'm not going to wait for you, Isagi."

His golden eyes pierce through the three of you—and a shiver runs down your spine. "If you do want me—win me back. All I know is, I'm going to keep following the monster inside me." Bachira wordlessly walks through the winner's gate, and there is now nobody left except you and the other two boys.

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