Captain of the New-Gen XI

[Chapter 2]

Seth and Maria found themselves sitting in a corner while members of FC Barcha spoke with their master; more so, they watched and listened to Lavinho speak and perform tricks with the ball. The initial shock of his presence had faded long ago. 
 
Seth watched as Lavinho planted his hand on the floor and flicked the ball into the air. With his legs off the floor and some great balance, the ball bounced from left to right foot, never once touching the floor. His legs were folded as the ball landed on the inner of his thigh, only to be thrown into the air once more. The dribble style, in all honesty, was just for show. 
 
"With my visualization as a butterfly and the field as my stage, I dance out my idea of what the world's best is!" 
 
What surprised Seth was that once Bachira joined in on his fun, Maybe Lavinho had found a successor to his crazy way of playing football. 
 
"Shall we go, Seth?" Maria jumped, letting out a scream when Seth's leg flew to the front of her face, stopping a ball from hitting her. The boy was hovering above the ground by only a few centimeters, with his hands holding up his weight. 
 
As the ball fell, he sighed. 'It seems I have to put on another show. What a pain.' Using his other foot, he balances the ball, not allowing it to move an inch under his control. However, knowing that he had to deal with three other clubs, it was wise to end this off quickly. 
 
Under the eyes of many onlookers, the ball was out of his grasp in the blink of an eye. His body moved very fluently, without a hint of doubt. His legs were planted firmly on the floor, hands to his side, and he seemed to flicker into that position just when the ball fell perfectly into the top of his foot. His toes were curved upwards to keep it in place.
 
"Please refrain from hitting my assistant; she is rather fragile." 
 
"I am not fragile." Maria shouted, already standing at her feet. 
 
"Sorry sorry." Bachira apologized with a silly expression and his hands together. Although Seth's display was shorter than he would have liked, it was clear that that ball was under his complete control the whole time. The way he used it was simple, yet that's what made it scary—the fact that he had no idea what it would do next. 
 
The boy could have done many things, but he chose the simplest of tricks. 
 
"Sure." 
 
Bachira blinked, yet when his eyes opened, the ball wasn't with Seth and instead had flickered under his feet. Blinking, the boy couldn't help but slime, seeing Seth and the woman walk away. He hadn't seen, heard, or even felt the ball touching his toes until he noticed it was gone from Seth. 
 
He knew he would be given the opportunity to play with him in the near future, but he at least wanted to have a conversation. That would just have to wait for another time. 
 
⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝
 
And onto the third club, Manshine City, a club Seth had only spent a week staying behind, he got on the first flight to anywhere else. Walking into the room, his face went through several different emotions before landing on one of disgust. 
 
Chris Prince, a man Seth found himself running from very often, was funding the Blue Lockers. His large hands patted Reo's ribcage as the boy stared down at Chris with confusion and discomfort. 
 
"Chris." Seth's voice alerted everyone to his presence, and unlike the other two, they had much more mature reactions. "Can you stop touching them? You are going to catch a case. Japan may be peaceful, but—" 
 
"Seth!" Chris yelled with his arms wide. While in front of the boy, who stared up at the man with noticeable regret, This is why he fled the country when Chris arrived. "My dress-up bubby!" 
 
"I am no one's "dress up buddy," you baffun." While Chris went in for the hug, Seth dodged and appeared in the air above the man with his knees bent. 
 
With the distance between them now wide enough for his satisfaction, the boy fell to the ground, his knees bent as his falling weight was distributed through his entire body. His landing was silent and without injury; if he got an injury from something so simple as falling a few feet, he might just retire early. 
 
"Now, why are you here?" Chris asked, "Matches don't start for another few days." 
 
"Because I was told to go to all the clubs before I enter my hibernation." Seth's plan afterward was just to stay in his room until the games commenced. He had no reason to interact with the members of Blue Lock until then. 
 
"I see. While you are here in Japan, why don't you accompany me to a photoshoot?" Chris spoke with his usual loud voice; it was impressive how he managed to act that way all day every day. 
 
"I refuse." Seth sent him a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. 
 
"I'll pay you; just give me a number. And any clothes you like, you get for free." 
 
Seth paused; his eyes flickered at Maria as she typed away with incredible speed. Once the woman was finished, from behind Chris, she showed him the screen. 
 
"How long will this take?" 
 
"Three hours, four hours max, not including travel." 
 
"Hm." Humming, his eyes went back to the screen. "Thirty thousand, USD." 
 
"Deal-"
 
"And fifteen percent of all profits made with my photos." 
 
"Ten percent." Chris and Seth stared at each other before Chris' eyebrow twitched. 
 
"Twenty-five thousand, and fifteen percent." The boy had no idea what he was doing. Maria had told him ten thousand but didn't specify what currency. 
 
"Thirty-five and ten percent." 
 
"Deal." Seth immediately took it. The deal was set when the two shock hands, Chris was handed his number, and he was on his way. Was this far? 
 
No. Not at all. If anything, Seth should have been the one paying, but he wasn't desperate. Money was something he stopped caring about a long time ago.
 
Looking at the Blue Lockers, he gestured for them to come closer, and they did. 
 
"If he ever becomes too much, just compliment something about him; he'll ramble for an hour or so and forget you even exist." 
 
"Really?" Nagi saw Seth nod and make a mental note of it. "Reo, make sure to remember that." 
 
"Well, I'm off." Waving his hand, the boy walked away from them, making his way towards the next club. 
 
"Well." Maria started; her eyes looked at her phone. "He got scammed." 
 
"Most definitely." The boy nodded along; little did he know that those three hours would be the most painfully slow hours of his life.
 
⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝
 
"Ubers." Stopping at the door, Seth had a realization, causing the boy to turn to Maria. "Isn't one of my people here?" 
 
"Yes." Maria shivered at the memory of Lorenzo; he was creepy, and whenever he and Seth interacted, she would stand very far away. 
 
With a hum of acknowledgement, he watched as the doors slid open and Barou stood in front of him. His surprise was short-lived, as he passed the stage with Maria moving out of the way. He was barely taller than the boy, but much taller than Maria. 
 
However, at five feet four and in a facility with football players, almost everyone, if not everyone, was taller than her here. 
 
Paying no mind to the passing male, Seth continued into the room, fixing his glasses that Maria had cleaned moments ago. 
 
"Oh," In front of him was Oliver Aiku, the former captain of Japan's under-20s. "Well, if it isn't the famous captain, We've heard a lot about you." 
 
The two shock hands, with Seth only having to tilt his eyes up slightly to meet Aiku's. The boy thought the Japanese weren't the most physical, yet he had met people extending his height. While he was not insecure about it, it was a complete contrast to what he heard. 
 
"All bad, I hope." After a few seconds, he continued. "Aren't you also a captain on a team?" 
 
"Former. I've been relieved of my duties." He didn't sound hurt; instead, he sounded very relaxed. 
 
"I'm sorry to hear that." 
 
"Don't be!" Oliver waved him off; his mismatched eyes moved to the side as he stared at an approaching figure. "You know, you are much more tolerable than that guy." 
 
"What guy-" 
 
"Is that my captain?!" Lorenzo shouted right next to the boy's eyes; he brought Seth into a headlock, much to the boy's dismay. "Say, captain, how about he get a bit to eat? Catch up. Your treat, of course; money's kind of tight right now." 
 
Maria shivered and scrambled next to the former captain, who offered her an apologetic smile. He felt bad for her, probably having to deal with Don because of Seth and his relationship. 
 
"Probably because you spend it on stupid things." Seth wasn't asking; it was a sure statement. "And I'm also broke right now." 
 
"We both know that's a lie." Don mumbled, allowing the boy out of his grasp.
 
While fixing his clothes, Seth cracked his neck. He needed to get out of these comfortable clothes, but he had one more club after this. Putting his hand out, Maria gave the boy his phone. 
 
"Here's five thousand." Before the zombie could speak, his collar was graded. Seth's grip was strong, one that Don could definitely not get out of. "If you spend this money on something stupid, I will find out. And stop spending all your money before the month ends." 
 
"Sir, yes, sir." Don smiled, showing off his gold teeth. 
 
Letting go, Seth stood up to his full height. Yup, he needed out of these clothes. Why did Maria have to pick out things that felt so restrictive? 
 
"Well, I'm off." 
 
"Before you go." Aryu made his presence known. His finger twirled a lock of his light pink hair, making the boy stare at him oddly. "What shampoo do you use? And who did your tattoos? And. Your. Skin." 
 
Blinking, his eyes shifted to Maria, who was already sweating his ass off. She hoped and prayed that she wouldn't have to deal with another weirdo because she was too good at being out of Seth's features. 
 
"It was her." Seth immediately said, his eyes shifting away from his. He pointed at her just to make sure Aryu knew for sure—he even knew he used feminine pronouns in a facility full of men. 
 
Despair washed over her once Aryu turned his eyes toward her. 'H-How could you?!' If she could kill Seth, she wouldn't, because he pays her bills and allows her to live in such luxury. The least she could do was imagine it and get out of here before the very tall teenager acted. 
 
"Seth! It's time to go!" She laughed nervously, dragging him out of the room. "You have one more club to visit after all; we must be punctual." 
 
"Yeah, sure." He said this while waving goodbye to the zombie, snake, and weirdo. 
 
"Great, now on top of Lorenzo, I have to avoid another weirdo." Maria grumbled; her complaining was almost annoying, Seth. However, he had a very high tolerance for winning. 
 
"It's fine, not like you go outside anyway." Shrugging his shoulders, the boy ignored the death glare she shot him. 
 
⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝
 
PXG, the one Seth was least interested in seeing. Not for a particular reason; he just didn't like being around Loki for long periods of time. The two were polite to each other but had completely different backgrounds. 
 
Loki was a rising star that has been slowly getting brighter, while Seth was a star that just exploded out of nowhere. Julian played for his national team, and Seth avoided his, thinking they would give him some rare disease if he got within a ten-mile radius of them. 
 
That, and Ego had specifically told him about the Blue Lockers in this club. 
 
Within that room, Loki had finished his introductions and evaluations. The teen was pleasantly surprised when Seth strolled into the room with that woman following behind him.
 
It was rare to see the two separated; he himself had only seen the boy alone when playing, but even then, Maria was still to the side watching. It was clear she had a distaste for the sport, so she had taken it upon herself to bring out Seth's national beauty to show off during games. 
 
A diamond amount of coal, as she had put it numerous times. 
 
"Seth, I'm honored you took the time to come here. Would you like some quick introductions to your future teammates?" It was that same smile of Julian's that made Maria dislike the club. 
 
France had taken the opportunity when Seth turned eighteen to boast that their prodigy was younger than the captain of the New-Gen Eleven. However, even when the news got to him, Seth waved it off and forgot about it only minutes later. 
 
"Sure, I have to go speak to Ego, so the quicker the better." That was a lie. Seth knew it, Maria knew it, and Loki knew it. That boy avoided speaking to Ego in person every chance he got. This time, there was no reason; he just found Ego weird. 
 
Introductions went smoothly, and everyone was quite polite... except for that one guy who mixed up beauty with bumpy, how he made such an error went over the heads of the Russians. 
 
"Itoshi Rin; I'm sure you know his brother."
 
Seth looked Rin up and down, and Rin did the same. He didn't see anything impressive about Seth; he even wondered if he was in the wrong career. 
 
Tapping Seth's arm, Maria brought his head down to her height, which strained his back quite a bit.
 
"I don't know which parent he took after, but it's definitely not the same one as Sae." 
 
"Are you good with my brother?" Rin's voice lacked something that Seth couldn't quite put his finger on. There was a lot of emotion behind it, yet it sounded so flat. 
 
"Define good." Seth shrugged Maria away. The woman tried and failed to use him as a standing rack. "He'll call; we'll talk. I'll call, and we'll talk. If we meet somewhere, we'll talk."
 
Usually, those conversations lasted ten minutes, twenty for the most. Sae and Seth were talkers. 
 
"Wait." Shido made his way through the crowd, a simple act that angered Rin. "You have Sae's number?" 
 
"That is what I said, yes. It's somewhere in that sea of contacts." 
 
"Can I have it?" 
 
"No."
 
The Blue Lockers stared at Seth like he had ripped a football in half with his teeth. The only other reason they had seen refuse the demon to his face with such a bored expression was Sae. Rin and him just fished whenever they got the opportunity. 
 
"And why is that?" Grinning, he got very close to the boy's face. 
 
"Because, from what I heard, you played a game with him. Meaning that you were simply too insignificant for him to give it to you. That, or you are just a cunt." 
 
'It's the latter.' All the teens mentally agreed. 
 
Shido was then interrupted by Seth. "And don't ask for my assistant's number either; I saw you defiling her with your eyes." 
 
"Huh?" Maria shuffled behind Seth; although he was exaggerating it, she wouldn't take the risk. 
 
"Our contract has ten more years until it needs to be renewed, and I doubt you can afford her with her salary expectations." 
 
"Are you calling me broke, you little lotus?" Even closer, which they didn't even know was possible. 
 
"No." Leaning back, Seth's red eyes lost a significant amount of color. His already deep and raspy voice is getting even lower. "I'm saying your budget will not meet the basic requirements; you sunburnt reta-" 
 
"Use a different word." With her hands on his back, Maria requested. 
 
"Uhh, cunt.?" 
 
"Yeah, that's fine." 
 
"You sunburnt cunt." His words caused almost everyone to hold their breath. Shido had been surprisingly docile until now, but they knew it wouldn't last long before someone was pissed off. They just didn't expect it to be someone like Seth. 
 
"You wanna go, pretty boy?" The teen's grinned slowly turned sinister as he lowered himself, bending down very slightly. 
 
His actions were copied by the Russian prodigy. "I don't mind laying hands on a child. Where I'm from, we call that discipline." 
 
The two refused to break eye contact for what felt like minutes, red meeting pink. Maria wasn't sure what she should do if they did end up fighting; she couldn't step in, and it looked like no one else wanted to get in the middle of the firing range either. 
 
Luckily, her saving grace came in the form of Loki, who stood in between them. 
 
"Now now, let's not fight amongst ourselves." Julian looked toward Maria. "Miss. Novikov, I believe you should be receiving the schedule for the upcoming matches soon." 
 
"O-Oh, okay." Maria didn't know that had already been made, since Ego usually left those things to Anri. 
 
Before Loki could address Seth, the boy was already walking away. He already wasn't looking forward to playing with Shido, and from that short exchange, he could already tell their way of playing soccer did not align. 
 
Seth, despite having such a well-rounded physique, preferred to use his brain. If his team was good enough, then he would only have to score a goal because he felt like it. He already had an idea of which clubs would be the most fun to play in, and this one was not it.