28. ROOMMATE NUMBER 4

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THE

new room in the fourth stage was surprisingly nice—much bigger than the previous two since it now had to fit a grand total of five people. This time, instead of a floor mattress, you had an actual bed with an actual nightstand, and you couldn't be happier. After a quick shower, you walk into the room to start getting ready for bed, only to see everyone doing their own thing.

Nagi was playing a game on his phone, Barou was smoothing his sheets, Chigiri was blow-drying his hair and Isagi was trying to get everyone's attention to no avail. Barou picked up a pair of socks in one hand and a damp towel in the other, "Hey, shitheads! Which one of you bums left your socks inside out?! And who decided to throw a wet towel on the floor?!"

Chigiri gives him a tepid glance, hairdryer still in hand, "Oh, the socks are mine. I'll deal with them after I've finished drying my hair."

"Towels mine, but since you got it, put it in the wash for me," Nagi rolls onto his back lazily, eyes still focused on the blaring screen that you think is far too close to his face. You hope it falls on his face. 

"I'm a king, not a maid. Pick up your laundry before I lose my patience!" Barou snaps with his signature tic-mark, snarling at the two boys lazing about. 

"Busy."

"What a hassle."

You saunter over to your bed, sitting cross-legged on the cotton sheet covers—picking up a jelly-like cream and smoothing open the jar. While you apply some to your face, you look over at Barou, "If you leave it in my laundry basket, I'll wash them when I have time."

He scrunches up his nose at you, "No! These lazy shits need to learn to not leave their trash everywhere! If you keep picking it up for them, they'll become the most disgusting adults known to mankind!" He's red from anger at this point, so you decide not to argue with him about how that's your job.

Nagi's black-hole-like eyes peek up from where he lays down and his phone falls onto the bed when he gets up—his badly hunched posture waddling over to your bed, "[name], can you do that thing with the creams again?"

He flops onto your bed when he speaks, laying on his back with his head near your crossed legs. You place the thing you were using back on your nightstand, and with a shrug, you say, "Okay. But only if you start picking up after yourself."

He puffs his cheeks out, "Fine, whatever." And with his uncertain promise, you have a feeling he's lying—but something about him feels so easy to spoil. You almost laugh at him when you see the look of utter peace that falls over his features when you start rubbing cream into his forehead, and the way he almost unconsciously leans into your touch. "Don't fall asleep now, Nagi."

He doesn't say a word, but now, his eyes are open, just enough so you can see the slits of his black irises. You can't help but think that maybe you'd misjudged Reo and his relationship with Nagi—because you can't say you wouldn't do the same if you were the rich boy. A soft smile passes over your features, and through your thoughts, you don't catch the way that Nagi doesn't look away from your face once.

Barou and Isagi decided to get some food—something which you politely declined, while Nagi and Chigiri, not-so-politely declined. Now, in the room, it was just you, Nagi, and the pink-haired boy. You all sat there in silence for a little while, which was abruptly shattered once you had finished with Nagi—and his skin was so shiny that it reflected the light.

"There. Done." You poke his forehead, so his eyes widen more than just half-lidded, and he rolls over, now belly-flopped on your bed. "Now go pick up your mess. You too, Chigiri. Otherwise, Barou will rip into you two again." You ignore the sassy eye-roll you receive from the redhead.

Nagi's voice is slightly muffled from how his face is planted into your bedsheets, but you can still hear him say, "'Dun wanna..."

You knew this would happen, and yet you were still at least a little bit hopeful. You give up, a sigh escaping your lips as you switch on your phone. "Whatever. If he throws you like a ragdoll, I won't nurse you back to health."

You click on your YouTube feed, scrolling through the videos, until you remember something. You look through your history—to a video of a soccer match that had a technique that you thought might come in handy. You'd forgotten to show them earlier, but better now than never. "Hey, if you're not going to clean up, look at this."

Nagi raises his head slowly, hand under his cheek to prop his head up when you tilt your phone towards him and shuffle over next to him so you can watch as well, "Do you see this?" You point to a guy trapping the ball in a certain way, "I'd like you to try this next time we do training."

Chigiri raises a bodysuit off his bed with the tips of his fingers and pulls a disgusted face, brows scrunched when he examines it, "Does this even belong to me?" But with no answer, he looks towards where you and Nagi sit, looking closer to see that you're both watching a video.

He walks over, discarding the bodysuit on the floor without a glance, and stands behind you to peer over your head and see the screen. "What're you guys watching?"

You raise your head up and look at him from over your shoulder, raising the screen slightly so he has a better view, "I found some clips of a game. It has some nice techniques I'd like you all to try and mimic."

Nagi points at a player scoring a goal with a dead-straight kill shot, with white hair and sharp eyes, "I wanna copy this guy here, he's beyond good."

Chigiri raises a brow, a smile curling up on his lips, "Are you kidding me, man? That guy is Noel Noa."

Nagi looks at Chigiri, with his own expression of confusion now painting his face, "Who's that?"

You deadpan, head turned towards Nagi. He's serious. And here you thought you knew nothing about soccer—but even you knew who the number one striker in the world was.

"Only the number one striker in the world right now."

Nagi looks back to the screen and props up his face, "Oh, well that explains it, then. 'Cause he's got really solid moves."

Chigiri laughs, sound echoing out of his lips in disbelief when Nagi speaks—in wonder at his obliviousness. "You weren't kidding. Wow, you really don't know anything about this sport, do ya? It's criminal how good you are considering."

"Thanks, man," Nagi shrugs, scooting himself up so he sits up beside you on the cotton wool sheets, "By the way, did you injure your leg or something? It sounded like it."

Chigiri takes his place on the edge of your bed, and you have to scooch over to make a little room for him. Seriously, is there a get-together happening on my bed? "Sure did. Check it."

The redhead rolls up the cloth covering his leg, up his mid-thigh, which shows Nagi the scar that trails across his knee. "My right leg is both my partner and a disaster waiting to happen."

Nagi scrunches up his nose, moving his head back a little at the sight of the scar, "Eugh. Does it hurt?"

"No, not anymore." Chigiri smiles as if it's a fond memory. When you catch sight of that, it makes your heart feel a little warmer. His supple fingers trail the scar. "Bust it again, though, and I'll be in trouble. But honestly, I've got no regrets. Each match, I run like it's my last."

"Woah. That's wicked cool." Nagi's mouth makes an o shape, and you stifle a laugh at his wonderous expression.

"It's very cool," you agree and nod, a grin forming on your lips.

"Before I can become the best, there's still a bunch of players I've got to demolish," Chigiri tucks his hair behind his ear, but there are still strands that fall over in front of his eyes, "You know, Nagi, there are a ton of athletes with killer first touches."

"Really? Like who?"

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The door to the room slides open, and there stands Barou (and Isagi, by extent) with a slack jaw and wide, bulged eyes, "HOW IS THERE AN EVEN BIGGER MESS THAN WHEN WE LEFT YOU?!"

Chigiri tosses a shoe at Nagi, who easily balances it on his bare foot. You sit on the floor between them, clapping when the shoe stays put with Nagi's expert control. Barou growls, an animalistic sound that makes you shiver and turn around with shaky hands, "Would you care to explain what the hell you're doing?!"

Nagi deadpans, eyes bleak when he says, "We were watching a video, and [name] wanted us to try out some plays."

"It's Nagi's let's control everything championship."

You look at Chigiri in shock when he doesn't defend your honour to Barou, who is basically releasing steam from his ears he's so mad, "Wait! I didn't tell them to do this! I'm innocent!"

You wave your hands around in defence when Barou screams in rage, "PUT MY SHOE DOWN OR I'LL PUT YOU DOWN!"

Nagi waves the shoe around in the air with a mischievous gleam in his eyes, "Do you wanna try?"

You almost feel your soul escape your body from fear while Chigiri laughs at the raging king in front of him, Nagi tossing the shoe in Barou's way, and in retaliation, Barou slams a towel into Nagi's face. You dip down and hold your head when things start flying—wondering what you had possibly done to deserve this.

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note: very short chapter bc the 3v3 one was so long. sorry. i promise the next chapter will make up for it wink wink nudge nudge hehe