Ascension│Bluelock x male reader

2.22. Stay?

"I'll leave you here."

After they'd stretched, taken showers, and drank some water, Sae brought Y/N to the changing room door. Y/N'd shoved all his kit into a bag, as well as his boots, and was pretty much ready to go. As for Sae, he was finishing off brushing his hair.

They'd given it a little thought. Y/N would return home for now, and Bluelock would provide for anything he needed. He wasn't entirely sure if it was a good idea to stay with Sae - wouldn't the man find him a bother?

And besides, after the game, Y/N wanted nothing more than to be alone. He wasn't upset, but rather, he was wholly drained. Playing just for 45 minutes had been tougher on him than a whole day of Sae's training. Add into it the mental strain of Kuroi appearing, and the rush of excitement when he'd managed to finally understand himself, and he was completely and utterly worn out.

It was just past four when they separated. Y/N waved Sae goodbye, promising to call him at a later point. Sae'd took the phone he gave to Y/N with him, so Y/N had to fetch his own from Anri.

He headed across the corridor, towards the Bluelock changing room. There was no sign of Kuroi, nor his sponsors - they'd probably been cleared out by security. Not that he was complaining, of course.

Y/N hesitated by the door for a second. Chigiri wanted him there, but did everyone else?

Before he had a chance to think it over, the princess himself opened the door, one hand holding a towel to his wet hair. Pink eyes immediately widened, glancing up at Y/N, and a small smile curled onto his lips.

"Hey!" He let go of the door handle. "I was just coming to find you. The coaches back to Bluelock leave soon, and technically, you're still part of Bluelock..."

Y/N felt his own smile grow on his face. He let Chigiri take his wrist in a loose grip, leading him into the changing room. "Sounds good..."

Inside, it was like a hurricane had happened in a very, very local area. Firstly, Y/N noticed the smell of sweat hanging in the air, probably coming from the match clothes strewn over the floor. He inched closer to Chigiri, giving the boy's hair a sniff and taking in the scent of apples. No sign of any sweat. Definitely the old clothes...

Right after that, he spotted Anri, standing next to Ego at the back of the room. The woman was crying with joy, hugging a clipboard to her chest as she rubbed at her eyes. Ego... Y/N didn't know how to feel about Ego. He'd obviously had something to do with Kuroi being at the game - the commentators had called him a 'manager for Bluelock'.

But last, he realised that most of the players were looking at him.

It was odd. While walking to the changing rooms, Y/N had noticed the protective way that they'd surrounded him. The U-20 team seemed normal. But here, all the Bluelock players were gazing at him with different expressions to normal.

Reo had a guilty, ashamed look on his face. Igaguri was gazing at him with something along the lines of wonder. Isagi looked almost sorry for him. Actually, a lot of them looked sorry.

Y/N stood there in the doorway. The players had been mid celebration, waving their shirts, squirting bottles of water at each other, and talking excitedly between them. But the longer he stood there, the more people fell quiet.

Something's wrong...

"Y/N?"

That was Chigiri, glancing back at him. "You okay?"

He lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. "Why's everyone looking at me strange...?" Chigiri froze. He gulped, pink eyes flickering to the players, then back to Y/N. A sinking feeling grew in Y/N's stomach. "Chigiri...?"