Ascension│Bluelock x male reader

6. Let's Play Tag (Part 2)

"You have 136 seconds. Whoever struck by the ball is 'it'. And the person who is 'it' when the time runs out is disqualified." Ego thought for a second. "Also, don't use your hands."

The screen changed to a crude drawing of the bald boy that had been talking to Isagi, and a hole opened up in the ceiling. A singular ball fell out of the hole, bouncing once as it landed on the floor.

"Igarashi Gurimu, ranking 300..." Feeling the muscles in his body instinctively tense, Y/N looked around for the boy. He was walking over to the ball, fists clenched and a determined look on his face.

"Is it because I'm ranked the lowest?" Igarashi placed one foot on the ball, glaring at everyone around the room. Most people were spread out, and Y/N and Chigiri being on one side of the room put them far away from the striker. "Fine, let's do this."

"W-Wait, you actually believe what he said?" A brown-haired boy shouted.

"So what if it's fake?!" Beginning to move towards some of the players, Igarashi scowled. "I can't afford to lose here. If I do, I have to be a monk for the rest of my life!"

He sprinted (quite slowly in Y/N's opinion) towards a small gathering of players, determination filling his face. "Nothing personal, guys!"

Y/N and Chigiri just watched from the other side of the room as he fired off a shot, the ball going wide and not hitting anybody. After retrieving the ball, Igarashi set off again, aiming for a cluster of players and missing.

"It's chill as long as we stay here, right?" Y/N questioned. "He'll just chase the other guys around the room and we'll be fine." Even though there was probably no chance that this guy would hit him, his breathing was already getting faster, prepping his body in case he needed to run.

A few more shots echoed around the room as Igarashi shot and missed, every single time. The other guys seemed to be adept at keeping their distance, circling around to his blind side.

When the noise of his screaming momentarily stopped, Y/N properly focused. The monk was walking slowly towards him and Chigiri, but not aiming for them. His eyes were both fixed on the sleeping Bachira near Y/N.

"He's still asleep?" Igarashi giggled. "Piece of cake."

He lightly tapped the ball, rolling it along the floor towards Bachira. The bumblebee slept soundly on, oblivious to the fact that his nap might cost him his soccer career.

Patting Chigiri on the shoulder, Y/N gestured to Bachira. He spoke in a lighthearted, bright tone. "Imma go wake him up, be right back!"

The ball bounced slightly off Bachira's hair, and with that, Igaguri was running off to the other side of the room. The screen flickered, changing to a drawing of Bachira. Rank 290, huh?

The boy shifted on the ground, mumbling as he rubbed his eyes. "Hmm?"

Y/N knelt by him, rubbing the other boy's hair soothingly. "Just go back to sleep, it's fine. I've got this."

He only got a muttered reply under his breath as Bachira shifted a bit on the floor. "Five more minutes, mama..."

Kicking the ball away from Bachira, Y/N smiled innocently at the rest of the strikers in the room. Most of them were looking at him with confusion - after all, why would he risk his own career?

"I'm not risking a thing." Y/N said under his breath.

He set off at a leisurely pace, smiling welcomingly at the rest of the boys as they ran away from him. None of them got stuck in the corner like he'd hoped, everyone running to the sides of the room.

Y/N tracked them, walking round the middle of the room as the strikers ran along the edge, hugging the wall.

He spotted a tall boy, muscular and wide. Easy target. The other striker's hair was bright orange, and he stared at Y/N with a hint of challenge in his eyes.

"Aaaand... right there." Y/N fired off a shot, kicking the ball with a decent amount of force behind the tall boy. It went off by quite a bit, and Y/N watched as everyone's faces grew relieved.

The ball bounced off the wall that the orange-haired boy was near to, hitting him in the side.

His face grew wide with shock, and Y/N just giggled, running off back to Chigiri. "Lucky shot, I guess?"

The muscular boy's eyes darkened. "Bastard."

He winded up, before slamming the ball with a huge force after Y/N. As for the teenager, he just watched with wide, innocent eyes as the black and white sphere rocketed towards him.

At the last moment, Y/N lunged to one side, lifting his foot and poking the ball in another direction.

It flew far across the room, further than even Y/N had expected. Everyone stared with shock as it bounced once, twice, before slamming into an unprepared Isagi.

Bachira appeared at Y/N's side, tiredly nuzzling into his shoulder. "What's happening?"

"Just playing tag, Bachira." Y/N smiled.

The two of them just stood there, watching as Isagi tried and failed to hit anybody. The timer was slowly ticking down, the sound of the ball ricocheted off the wall the only noise in the room.

Finally, something happened. As Igaguri leapt away from the ball, the small boy's foot landed badly on a stray pile of clothing, and his leg shot out from right under him.

He collapsed onto the floor, groaning in pain. Y/N winced, but made no move to go help him. "Ouch."

The room went silent as everyone stared in shock at Igaguri. He tried to move, but was unable to do more than shift a little bit on the ground, his foot completely useless.

"Hit him, Isagi!" That Kira guy yelled from the side. "Time is low!"

That reminded Y/N to look over at the clock. The timer on the screen read 20 seconds left, and Isagi was still the highlighted person.

Yet, Isagi just stood there, seemingly frozen in thought as he looked down at Igaguri. The other boy was squirming, begging on the floor as he pleaded not to be hit, but Isagi didn't move.

In one smooth motion, he turned, running for Y/N and Bachira. His eyes burned with energy, and his lips unconsciously moved. "If you're going to remove someone, it has to be someone better than you!"

Bachira grinned widely, darting in front of Y/N. "I agree."

Two steps forward, and his foot lashed out, stealing the ball from right between Isagi's legs. "If you're going for someone, it should be the strongest one here!"

He surged past Isagi, not seeming to notice the timer ticking down as the smile widened onto his face.

Kira's eyes widened as Bachira ran at him. "M-me?"

The bumblebee launching the ball at him was all that he needed, and Y/N ran after Bachira as he fired shot after shot at Kira.

He was too late though to do anything, as Kira dodged away.

Bachira flipped. His hands hit the ground in a handstand, and both feet lifted the ball high into the air. A kick, and the ball was flying over Kira's head, far away from him as the timer ticked low.

Y/N stopped moving, standing as watching with a small smile at the graceful arc the ball cut, high over everyone's heads. "Go on Isagi."

And as the ball flew towards the blue-haired boy, Y/N thoroughly enjoyed seeing the flames in his eyes grow ever larger, and the dazed expression of someone exploring their ego for the first time.

Across the room, Bachira grinned. "Boom!"

And Isagi shot the ball right into Kira's face.