NIKE -Blue Lock-

Cosa mi hai fatto fare...

What's inside the package? Seen.

Her lower lip would have pleaded for mercy if only it possessed the gift of speech, enduring the repeated piercing of her sharp canine tooth more than its soft surface could bear.

"Stop eating your lip..."

A hand gently moved the phone from Nicole's line of sight, and the face of the boy with milk-colored hair, whose head rested on her thighs, came into view.

"It's stressing me out... and that's tiring." he said, his tired, half-open eyes fixed on her handsome tanned face.

The Manshine City team had retreated to the locker room at the end of the first half, now anxiously awaiting the end of the 15-minute break.

Positively anxiously...

The team was euphoric, radiating energy (excluding Nagi and Nicole) and pungent male hormones (again, excluding Nicole). Even more euphoric was Chris Prince, who had managed to snag into his team the Joker Card only because, before the game started, he had approached Nicole and the master striker of the Ubers with an expression of pure sorrow.

He had mumbled something like, "I know you'll choose them... you're still mad at me for our first encounter..." with slumped shoulders and a dejected tone.

Nicole and Marc Snuffy had stared at him with such neutral expressions that Chris had to cough to compel them to respond.

Needless to say, joy and arrogance returned to his soul when the girl, to show the English master striker that he was too insignificant to be bothersome, decided to play on his team.

And it was also needless to say that her bonus had already been used, rendering her presence unnecessary for the second half. Regardless, Manshine City was ahead by three goals, the score standing at 5-2.

"We're proper strong, mate! Check out me guns."

Nicole raised an eyebrow as the strong British slang, now even more pronounced thanks to the blonde's euphoria, reached her ears.

Chris Prince was evidently reveling in the knowledge of being in the lead. After the brutal defeat against Bastard München and Paris X Gen (especially in the one vs one against Nicklaus Vinciguerra), a victory was just what he needed.

He was flexing his biceps and... all his other muscles in front of his players, a toothpaste-commercial smile wide on his face.

"Me blood's pure creatine and adrenaline, pal. Nothin' else pumps through these veeeee..." he fell silent before he could finish the word "veins", his eyes fixed on Nicole Vinciguerra's bored and unimpressed face, her gaze almost piercing through him.

The redhead tilted her head to one shoulder before lowering her eyes to Nagi, her fingertips running through his soft, tousled white hair.

Her wine colored eyes turned to the coach from under her long dark lashes.

"Maybe instead of pumping blood into your muscles, you should pump it into your brain. The tyrant is pretty pissed if and... well, you can't use me anymore." she analyzed him from head to toe, then smirked slightly, leaning back and resting her shoulders against the wall behind her.

"I suggest you try to seduce him with your Prince Charming smile."

Chris Prince frowned childishly at the brutally sarcastic words of the younger girl, relaxing his muscles and abruptly grabbing the jersey that Reo, accompanied by a slightly uneasy smile, was handing him.

"Oh, come on. Just trying to get the team buzzing, you know?" the blonde retorted, offended, stiffening with a grimace when the girl stared straight into his face with eyes empty yet so similarly judgmental.