Bessoted (By you)

XXI: New teams

[Name] has had his fair share of moments in both glory and defeat. Much like most people, he'd prefer succeeding in every scenario he encounters but he wasn't so foolish and ignorant to assume he'd never experience a bitter defeat.

He wasn't born that talented, that much he knows. Sure, he was good in certain areas but he was nothing compared to the true geniuses he was falsely situated beside in the eyes and opinion of the public.

It hurt his pride to know he didn't deserve to stand among his peers on the world stage but he kept quiet. He'll work hard, he chanted this mantra in his head for years. He'll work hard just until he can feel worthy of all the expectations placed on him.

Maybe one day, he'll eventually find himself befitting of it all. But until then, he'll push his pride to the side.

Just like right now, he'll push his pride aside as [Name] took a deep breath and straightened his posture. He could feel Sae's curious gaze about his sudden shift in mood but he chose to ignore it and pressed on.

As expected, electric blue eyes were quick to lock onto his figure as before [Name] could reach Anri, he was being blocked by none other than Kaiser himself.

"You'd think you would've gotten better in the months I haven't seen you," Kaiser purred causally, faux disappointment leaving his lips as he fixed his hair causally. Behind him stood Ness with a hesitant look, his eyes screaming apologies at [Name]. "As usual, you always seem to disappoint. You're never going to be part of the World 11 at this rate."

[Name]'s fists clenched at his side, how badly he wanted to retort brashly against that but he bit his tongue and gave a complacent smile, one he's usually taken to in circumstances such as this one. "It was a good game." He responded simply, his tone an endless pit of patience as it usually is when conversing with someone like Kaiser.

The German striker couldn't help the scowl on his face as he watched [Name] walk off serenely, Sae following close behind as though shielding his figure for any more interruptions. For a split second, his eyes met the midfielder's but unlike their usual passiveness, it was marred with disgust.

"Ness, let's go," He huffed, his feet taking a sharp turn as we walked away in thumps. Ness seemed to stumble a bit at the suddenness of the motion but quickly caught up, still reeling from the intense atmosphere between the three.

For how long he's been observing their interactions, he could never figure out the true intentions behind Kaiser's actions whenever they involved [Name]. Unlike his usual cockiness that sought to bring despair among blooming talents, something in him became a bit harsher, a bit angrier, and rough when it came to [Name]. Instead of destroying, he pushed the other man to work harder, to give it his all in plays, and whenever he thought no one was looking, a mist of genuineness clouded his eyes as he watched his counterpart.

It was a messy relationship and Ness wanted to tear his hair out at the complexity between them that he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out. 

With a tired sigh, he was forced to let go of his frustrations. It wasn't his business to interfere with how they treated each other. Only time will reveal just what it was that made those two behave in such a peculiar way.

_______

"You shouldn't let him treat you like that," Sae upbraided his partner for his passive reaction regarding Kaiser's verbal aggression. While Kaiser's behavior isn't something new to gawk about, he always did get a bit prissy when it targeted [Name].

"He's always like that, it's nothing new." [Name] mumbled back, his voice unenthused at the conversation's prolongation in the matter. He turned to look at Sae and noticed a barely visible frown tugging at his lips.