my life in art ✿ blue lock

✿ 6.

ruining my sleep schedule to write this shit bro 💔💔
(2 am while i typed that btw 😢)
(continuing at 2 pm 🙏🙏)
also, i love anri sm like ik she isn't like super in the manga but i love her still sm :((

reading this over and it kinda sucks LOL sorry ig ❤️

✰ ✰ ✰

the days leading up to the next game against team y were even worse than those of team x's game. but with a better sense of what a team should be, team z began to make progress.

you learned that as you took your shower after everyone else, they all talked about their 'weapons' and what made them good at football. they also discussed permanent positions and practiced them the next day as you did your morning routine.

of course, you were stuck as the goalkeeper because you 'weren't there when it was discussed.'

despite not knowing that they were even talking with each other and practicing, you stood in the goal at every practice with your assigned position. it was hell to say the least, with nearly every ball kicked your way making it into the goal.

during every practice, you craved the feeling of being able to sit calmly in the locker room with the air conditioning and cold water. everyone else talked amongst each other as you allowed yourself to relax with a lingering thought in the back of your mind.

"hey, kaito..?" you said softly, which made the whole room quiet down until all that could be heard was the soft whir of the air conditioning.

the boy with blond hair - suzuki kaito, ranked 269 - turned his whole body to face you. though he likely did it without a thought, the gesture of turning his full attention towards you made your cheeks burn.

throughout your days at blue lock, you recognized who was nice, who was mean, who treated you poorly, and who treated you with some respect. among all of team z, suzuki kaito was one that treated you as an equal. he never once tried to make a move on you and was one of the few that had never made a negative comment towards you or your way of playing football.

"what's up..?" he said slowly, "you feelin' all right?"

his concern nearly made you choke on your own spit, having to compose yourself before speaking again. "it's just- i know we've already decided positions and stuff, but i really don't think i fit as the goalkeeper"

your voice was quiet under the intimidating stares of the others. you were afraid that they'd laugh at you and your question like they always did.

you watched how kaito's face slightly changed and you quickly lifted your hands in front of you. "don't get me wrong! i'm sure your choices for positions will work great, but i don't think it will for me.." your voice faltered slightly, "you guys are good at your positions, but i think you're making all of those goals on me because i'm not right as the goalkeeper.."

kaito hummed softly as he processed your words, "we can try out other positions for you- that is if you'd like to"

all of the guys watched as you nodded slowly. there weren't any complaints as kaito had become the voice of reason and somewhat leader of the team. you were most grateful that he wasn't a douchebag like the others and treated you well.

"we never did ask you for your 'weapon', did we?" kaito said, and you hummed, making direct eye contact with him. you immediately looked away and shook your head.

"when i played with my team," you began slowly, "i relied on my flexibility and agility to score goals.."

you refused to look up after your confession, afraid of the possibility of meeting any looks of judgement. with your days at blue lock, you noticed an increase in your distrust of males. they had made it so hard for you to be able to trust them with your words or your abilities as a player.

as you and the others made your way to the field, you couldn't stop the uneasy feeling in your stomach.

kaito came up behind you and placed his hand on your shoulder, "how about we place you in takeo's spot. he seems most promising as a goalie, so we can switch you two"

you thought of ito takeo - ranked 267 - and immediately shuddered. he absolutely despised you for whatever reason. you assumed he wouldn't be too happy with switching positions.

while relying on kaito to talk to ito takeo, you took your place on the left side of the field. you would be alongside kaito- as he was the main forward - and tanaka masaru - ranked 270 - on the right of kaito.

as you played, you were hesitant to try at any plays. it was hard for you to watch how they played while you were in the goal, so it was a little hard for you to play with the teams already build foundation and trust in one another's abilities.

before you knew it, you were heavily out of breath and you already knew what kaito was going to say as he walked over to you with a look of sympathy etched on his face.

"just give me one more chance!" you said in between heavy breaths, "i know i can prove myself- just please let me try again.."

kaito watched you with a surprised look before he let out a breathy laugh, "was gonna ask if you needed a water break, but yeah, we can try again"

he offered a slight nod before telling everyone to get back into their positions. you wanted to slap yourself for being so embarrassing but followed after kaito to try again.

the ball was passed to masaru and you began your advance towards the opposite goal. as masaru got surrounded, he swiftly passed it back to kaito, who passed it slightly behind him towards takahashi kyo - ranked 272 - who was running up on your side. you knew he was gonna make the goal, which would ruin your last chance at changing your position.

as kyo got closer and closer, you remembered how you even became a well respected captain of your schools football club. before, the only reason you had gained enough girls to join was because they had a strange obsession with you. with the talks of a 'y/n fan club' forming, your friend hajime had figured that it'd be easy to create a team. and it was, but there wasn't a sense of respecting you as a captain but as a pretty girl that requested that they join a random sports club.

you remembered how you managed to steal the ball at your first practice match against your schools rival team.

you remembered how it took a few seconds for the opposing team to even realize you had stolen the ball with how you intersected the girl and how you swiftly stole the ball with 'elegance' as your teammates said.

you remembered how you managed to glide past the opposing team no matter how hard they tried to stop you-

and you remembered how you kicked the ball up in the air, standing on pointe out of memory, and kicked the ball as hard as you could towards the goal. you remembered spinning around from the force of your kick and not being able to watch the ball go into the goal, but with the way your teammates ran towards you, you knew that you finally scored a point for your team.

despite losing that game by six points, there was an understanding that you were dedicated to the club and getting better at playing football. and overtime, your team had managed to play better and beat the other teams until being invited to nationals.

as you remembered the girls on your original team, your body reacted without your brain as you stole the ball and scored similarly to how you did in that practice match.

you immediately thought of your team and wondered if they were getting better. they'd have to possibly go to nationals without you while you were at blue lock and play as best as they could. you only hoped that they'd try their best and make a name for your schools's girls football club.

✰ ✰ ✰