𝘾𝙊𝙋𝙎 '𝙉' 𝙍𝙊𝘽𝘽𝙀𝙍𝙎; 𝙄𝙏𝙊𝙎𝙃𝙄 𝙍.

🩵VII: MY LITTLE DEMON🩵

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The first half ended with the score in the favor of Blue Lock and its players. Rin had tried to stop Sae when he'd gotten the ball, but failed. Blue Lock managed to steal the ball and counter. Chigiri actually managed to pass Oliver, which pissed off the younger Aiku a bit, but it was bound to happen.

The ball soon ended up in the possession of Rin, who ended up scoring the second goal for his team. You internally cheered for him, being conscious about the others around you and the players on the field.

You sat in the locker room with all of the other players right next to Oliver. Your gut twisted, hoping you wouldn't get put in.

"Crap. Oh crap." Neru's voice shook as he sat cross-legged on one of the benches.

Hayate spoke up from his spot. "I never thought we'd enter halftime behind in score."

"What'll we do in the second half? How should we fight?" Niou questioned.

Sendo mumbled to himself in frustration. "If only...I had scored. If I'd..."

Sae walked out of the showers, underwear on and towel around his neck.

"Ah, Itoshi Sae."

"Good timing, Genius." Niou greeted before continuing. "We were just about to discuss how to amend our strategy in the second half."

Kitsunezato watched as Sae passed, speaking up himself. "Our offense was real solid at the end of the first half there! When we attack in numbers like that, it pressures our opponents! Should we have the coach change up our formation?"

Sae sat down and pulled his duffel bag in front of him before digging through it. "Ah? Do whatever you want. Doesn't matter to me."

"Huh? What're you talking about, the match is still..."

You couldn't tell what the Itoshi had squirted in his hand from a tube, but you figured it was most likely some sort of moisturizer. "I'm leaving." That made you freeze, staring at him with your jaw slack.

"Huh? What the fuck?"

"Come on, dude, how are we gonna get anywhere without you?"

"Don't care." He simply said before jutting his thumb over to Oliver, who you immediately got protective of. "All I did was take up that captain's bet."

"Aiku?" Hayate looked over, mumbling the last name of the siblings, but referring to the older.

"'What will I bring about in the U-20?' This is the result of fighting your way. Everything here was too defective to be of any use to me. This is reality. Anyways, to begin with, I was only here because I was interested in Blue Lock. While they're still rough around the edges, the world they see, the place they're aiming for, it's different from the U-20. I saw what I came for, and I'm satisfied, so I have no reason to continue playing in this match."

You glared at Sae, who was fully dressed and walking out, and your hands clenched in your lap. From beside you, you could hear Oliver's breathing change the slightest bit as he took a short breath in. "Please wait, boy genius." The mentioned player paused and turned as he walked past. "Sorry, everyone...for making such a selfish bet. I wanted to test our current strength; I wanted to know where I currently stand, but I know it enough that it hurts. We're weak.

"At this rate, we'll lose to Blue Lock. They'll steal our places and we'll be the ones disappearing. This is the first time in my life I've felt it sting this badly." You frowned at your brother's words, but knew the truth behind them. You shifted closer to Oliver and placed your knee against his.

Sae kept a neutral expression as he gave his response. "Too little, too late. I'm leaving and you guys have no chance."

Oliver grinned at he lifted his head up to make eye contact with him. "Oh, but we do have a chance. We've still got our demon. And if we want to beef up our defense, we've got our other amazing defender, who has almost the same skills as mine."

A strange and excited air came from Shido, but your gut twisted at the idea of being on the field. "Oli," you started in a quiet voice, but your voice was overpowered with ease by the demon.

"Hey, Genius. Is a life form like me not enough of a reason for you to fight?" Shido grinned, and you shifted slightly closer to your brother.

"Hah." Sae's dead voice rang out. "So that was your plan all along. Aren't you a clever one, Captain?" Oliver let out a little hum in satisfaction. "Very well, you insects." He turned to Shido as he grabbed his jersey again. "Go wild, my little demon. You and I are going to be this game's headliners."

Oliver turned to you as he sweat-dropped. "You ready?"

You frowned at him. "I don't want to play."

His face twisted into surprise. "But you have the chance of a lifetime, and you can debut!"

"I don't want to play against my friends."

"Please play, for me. I'll take you out to somewhere expensive soon." He tried bribing.

It took you a moment before you sighed, agreeing to play. "Alright, but I better be getting some good ass food."

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