Against Our Demons

Eighteen

Sae wasn't worried about the bet or the game in the slightest.

He'd done his homework. He knew this team and he knew this game. He knew the opposing team. He knew the field. He knew, with a considerable degree of certainty, almost every event that was going to take place over the ninety minutes of the game.

He was going to win.

Junior was going to make sure of it. Sae knew from being a midfielder that a forward having a good one made all the difference. To call Junior good was an understatement. He was the best one they had. He was one of the best Sae had ever met.

And Junior was his, not Shidou's.

"Sunbeam," Sae said, using the version of his nickname that Junior had brought with him from home.

When they played together before, they bonded over skill, but also because they were two prodigies out of Asian countries not necessarily known for turning out soccer players. It's not like they cried about it together or anything, it was more like a quiet understanding, something to share. The only way they really acknowledged it was by teaching each other some key phrases in each other's languages. They were all soccer phrases, so they could effectively alter the field to their own will without having to alert the opposing team or their own. But there was some nostalgia in it back then. Now, the bit of Korean Sae still remembered would be a valuable weapon.

He lifted his pinky to the corner of his eye. "Lend me your eye."

Junior understood immediately. He smiled, lifted his own pinky to the corner of his eye, and winked the other. "It's all yours, genius."

Junior didn't hold as much of a secret language as Sae did these days in these exchanges, but the fact that Shidou would also have understood that was fine by Sae. Maybe it would ever scare him and show him that Sae was serious.

Shidou didn't look all that scared, even though he'd definitely overheard it. Sae actually looked over to find him smiling. Looking at it, the way he kept it on his face the entire way onto the field, Sae couldn't help but wonder if he was an idiot. One didn't need to actually see Junior and Sae play together to know that they were a terrifying duo.

Why wasn't he scared?

But he wasn't. Ryusei wasn't worried at all. He'd made the move of going through the team list the previous night in preparation for this bet. He was pretty much betting that Sae would let him win or at the very least get too into his own head to play at his full capacity. And if he managed to keep a cool head and play his best, well, Ryusei was prepared for that too.

He never stepped on the field to lose, but this was a loss he completely refused.

Right before they left each other's side to get into their formation, Shidou grabbed Sae's shoulder and squeezed it. "Ready, striker?"

Sae just glared at him in response, fully despising the reaction that phrase and the chuckling that followed it summoned in him.

He pushed it away. Shidou was just trying to get into his head, obviously. It wouldn't work.

It was working. Ryusei saw it clear as day in Sae's eyes.

Once the game actually started, Sae felt better. That's what soccer had always done for him. It was a home to come back to, a love to restore and be welcomed by. Nothing else had to matter when he played besides playing. And winning. That was something he could always return to.

And for the first few minutes, it felt like things might actually be going well. Well meaning easy. The other team was garbage as far as Sae was concerned. An entire team of Milo Hunts. Nothing to worry about. But his real opponent didn't seem to be giving him all that much trouble. Sae's formation position had him more or less between Shidou and Junior, which gave him full freedom to play interference between the two of them. Or rather, to make opportunities to weave around him. Which they could. And did.