41. FIRST RULE OF FIGHT CLUB...

note: this chapter... is something. mostly just shidou being... shidou. yeah. should be a warning in itself. he might be into pet play but that's another can of worms i don't want to open.

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NANASE

crashes into both you and Isagi, tumbling you both to the ground and making you roll over a few times—only stopping from the speedbump that is your cooler bag, "Isagi-san! Holy crap!! What a super goal! As unreachable as Rin-kun and Shidou-san were, you completely broke righ' past them! And scored with a direct shoot! How'd ya manage that?! That was godly!"

You don't pay attention to the rest of Isagi's long explanation, looking up at the bright lights that blind your vision from the field, laid out like a starfish on the faux grass. I'm so exhausted.

Your attention is only piqued when another person joins the celebration party, and of all people, it's Shidou Ryusei, strolling over casually with his hands stuffed in his pockets, and a large grin decorating his lips, "Nice one, Isagi Yoichi. I can feel your cells sparking. I think I'll quite like it when you explode."

Rin suddenly joins in too—and now you're wondering whether or not it'll be rude if you don't, "Hmph. What a super goal. You can't even understand the breakdown of your own shoot... You just got lucky and stole my goal." Rin wipes a bead of perspiration off his top lip, pulled taut downwards as he speaks, "Isagi... you piss me off, after all."

You sigh loudly and move back down, head lying on the grass. You're too tired to deal with the argument that ensues between Rin and Shidou, and your mood has now significantly lifted from before. You don't even react as a certain ninja takes a seat beside your head, legs folded while he holds his chin up—eyes focused on you.

"Hey," he says, voice as cool as always. You look up, catching sight of that ridiculous green that settles between his eyes. You're not as annoyed as before, so you entertain him with a proper response.

"Hey."

He looks almost pleased at your tone, "Not so pissy anymore, huh?"

You suck in a deep breath, sitting up with your hands holding your body weight behind you, "Does this really work on girls?"

"I've been in Blue Lock too long, gimme a break."

And with that, you laugh, a wondrous sound echoing from your lips, that makes him turn his head toward you with an expression you can't quite decipher. But your joy is quickly cut short by the battle cry that is let out across the field, and before you know it—Rin and Shidou start throwing down in the middle of the field.

"A sucker like you who smiles while your teammate steals your goal... will never become the best in the world!" Rin snarls as he throws a heavy punch at Shidou—who takes it without even flinching, grinning madly.

At that moment, Shidou really looked like a wild animal. A feral boy—without a care for societal standards... "An ass like you who can't see the beauty of other people, will never become the best in the world, you self-conscious number one!"

Nanase's hands wrap around Rin's waist tightly to hold him back, while both Hiori and Isagi have to hold Shidou back from slamming his foot into Rin's face. You grind your teeth together, fists balled while you stand up, cursing every foul word you know under your breath.

I hate them so much. Maybe I should just quit. I don't know how much more of this I can take.

Your cooler bag (ironic, considering how much you want to cool off) is left discarded behind you—and so is your patience. You ignore the jeers coming from Otoya, behind you, and the petty scoffs of Karasu who wonders how he lost to these children—you pay it no mind.

You boldly walk up to them, reflecting the light off the sleek metal that is the button you possess, blinding them all for a few seconds to catch their attention and hold it up without remorse, "Down. Dooooowwwwn."

You raise and lower your hand to coerce them to lay down—as you would do to a dog. They aren't too much different from a bunch of mutts, anyway, you think with a hard glare. Both Rin and Shidou—successfully stopped fighting, but are now looking at you strangely. You don't care. You don't care that they've stopped trying to recreate the latest WWE match—you want them down.

"Down. On the floor. Now." You tap your thumb against the button of the taser, the other hand resting on your hip without a hint of remorse in your eyes. "Or I'll tase you so hard you'll fucking shit yourself."

It seems the threat of being tased so hard that they'll shit resonates with them better than telling them to just get down and just comply, and comply they did. Shidou gets down on all fours (you did NOT ask him to do that) and holds his head up at you with a wicked grin. You think you hear him bark, but for your mental state, you hope that it was a figment of your imagination.

Rin looks like you had just asked him to lick your finger with how much he's clenching his fists, crouching down to the ground in a squatting position, head held down low so his bangs cover his face. You know his pride must be severely wounded from this encounter—so you take what you can get.

You huff, slipping the device back into your pocket, and swiftly turn on your heel, ignoring the eyes that are focused on you. You walk back to your cooler bag, keeping your breathing as steady as possible, while Otoya looks up at you, holding a leg up to his chest, "That was hot."

"Whatever. I'm leaving. I need a nap." You rub the bridge of your nose once you've slung your bag over your shoulders, taking your leave without a care for your teammates left behind. You think you're going grey—you should have a little chat with Ego after this.

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"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey."

Your eyes flutter open, and your vision is so blurred you can barely see what's in front of you. You blink a few times, groaning as you try and recollect your scattered thoughts. You're abruptly shoved upwards by a large pair of hands, however, and you're forced to look at the person in front of you with full clarity—

You try and slap Shidou's hands away from your face, but he only grabs you harder in retaliation, a sultry grin stretched across his lips, "Manager-chan—you're way too cute~♪!" He giggles, rubbing your cheeks around in his palms and squeezing so that your face is squished up.

You can feel your cheek grow fiery hot in his palms—and hopelessly pray that he can't feel it. You grab onto his wrists with your hands and try and tug him away, but as expected, Shidou is insanely strong, much more than you are. The only thing you can do is lay there and accept your fate, as the man above you giggles and coos over you.

Since when has Shidou liked you so much? You can't remember when he's taken such an interest in his standoffish manager, but you don't doubt it was a short while ago. 

You grab onto his wrists fruitlessly once more, trying to speak through the moulding of your face, asking him to let you go. He smiles a devilish smile that reminds you of how much of a demon he truly is, "Nah. You're way too cute like this, [name]. But... maybe..."

He trails off, a teasing lilt in his voice that boils your blood. You grip his wrists even harder, nails digging into his sunkissed skin that leaves crescent moon shapes in its wake. He doesn't even react to the supposed pain, sharp eyes almost glowing as he looks down at you, like he's a predatory animal and you're mere prey, "If ya let me touch your tits."

...

What?

You blink, as if you can't believe what he's said. Then, you rethink. And then, your face explodes into a shade of bright, glowing red, and you start writhing and squirming in his grip, so hard that he's forced to let go so as to not take your head off—then, you scramble backwards and hold your bedsheets to your chest.

Your heart speeds up like you were on a roller coaster, and your stomach twists into knots you can't possibly undo—eyes widening until your pupils shrink into a mere dot. Embarrassment at the mere thought of accepting his request floods your veins white hot, and the images that flood your head don't make it any better.

You've never slept in the same room as a guy until Blue Lock, and you'd never made out with a guy until Blue Lock, too, and now... this...?

You shake your head like he's asked you to kill yourself, eyes squeezed shut and lashes pressed against your cheek tremble. He's... what is he even talking about?! You...

"What... what the hell is wrong with you?!" Your voice is shakier and less certain than you would've liked, your tongue tripping over your own words and your heart accelerating in your chest. Your voice breaks, words coming out as high-pitched squeals, "Are you cracked?! You're... so...—!!!"

My heart won't stop racing.

Shidou laughs cruelly at your embarrassment, voice low and velvety, practically dripping honey as he crawls closer, ignoring how your whole body shivers and you kick your legs back at him, "Aww—don't look so flustered. Was just an offer, manager-chan."

Suddenly, loud noises at the door draw both your attention away, heads turning in sync towards the source, Rin's voice blares out, "You stupid fucking cockroach, how long does it take to wake up a sleeping manager?! If you hold up the game any longer, I'll actually kill you."

Shidou suddenly jumps down from your bed, bare feet colliding with the hard marbled floors making a loud noise, grinning wide as he yells out, "Try it, you idiot under lashes! You'll be gone within a minute~♪"

One last glance over his shoulder—his eyeliner seems to grow even sharper than before when he squints his vibrant eyes at you, tongue running over his lips, "See ya, manager-chan. Don't forget to get ready for the game~!"

And with that, he walks out of your room, and you're left sitting there, sheets clutched to your chest and pink tint to your cheeks. A bead of sweat drips down the left side of your face, and you can feel your heartbeat calming down once Shidou has left, and you're all alone once again.

The next game... is soon. I need to get ready...

You swallow thickly, ignoring the shake in your hands, you get down from your bed and splash water on your face, watching as the flush slowly fades away. You press your lips together in a thin line, staring at yourself in the mirror like you were in a different body.

I'm... the manager, after all.

And your job is to take care of them, however annoying they may be.

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