HEART TO HEART. blue lock

08. BRIDGE OVER CLOUDS

PLEASE NOTE: off-page death of a parent, specifically a father. his cause of death is left blank on purpose. stay safe!

-joy

☆☆☆

AT NINE YEARS OLD, hyouma runs the world. 

kind of.

as the representative of his class, he ran like a bat out of hell in the marathon during the sports festival, bringing them their one and only victory with ease.

so the next day he goes to school, he's not surprised when he's bombarded with compliments by his classmates.

"chigiri-kun, you were amazing yesterday!"

"you totally owned that marathon!"

"man, you should've seen the other classes' faces when they saw how fast you were!"

"at this point, chigiri-kun can even compete with those high school grown-ups!"

hyouma flashes them a polite smile. "thanks."

he sets his bag on his desk in silence, propping his head against his palm as he stares at the view beyond the window. it's a bit of a strange one: a handful of kids passing a ball back and forth using their feet. one of them sticks out like a sore thumb with his height, and also because he keeps kicking the ball out of bounds. but hyouma must keep his vibes as an olympian.

"chigiri's so cool...."

"pretty guys with pretty abilities are a different breed."

"i'm gonna confess to him when we graduate."

"he rejected the whole class in one go when we were in first grade, i don't think you'll have a chance."

"i bet he's making a plan on how he's gonna destroy those four-b guys at the next festival."

"nah, i wouldn't be surprised if an idol agency scouted him and he's contemplating their offer...."

the breeze from the window causes some of his fringes to sway majestically, and it makes the whispers around him grow louder.

heh.

'praise me more.'

obviously, hyouma's cool. his pretty face has nothing to do with how fast he runs, he just has always loved running. no, don't confess to him, he's not ready to reject the entire school in one day yet. he doesn't care about four-b. he didn't get scouted, unfortunate 'cause it would've gotten the people talking more.

he slides a hand over his mouth, hiding the unruly smirk on his face.

hyouma's life is as easy as the marathon is. he's born with genetics that happen to be conventionally attractive, he found his talent just by the age of six, and people adore him for those reasons. if hyouma was another lucky bystander who gets to breathe within hyouma's distance, he would wax lyrical poetry about him, too.

running the world couldn't have been easier.

okay, maybe it can be a bit better. for example, his sister can be less annoying...

"i want you to play soccer with me."

...and the guy standing in front of him can repeat and hear himself say the ridiculous joke he just told hyouma.

it takes a few seconds of himself blinking at the intruder to register his words. is this a fellow fourth grader talking to him right now? his voice is way too monotone, even his dad doesn't sound like that; and the old man's dead.