BLUE LOCK - a place where soccer is more than just a sport and a future of worldwide glory is within grasp. Desperate to prove her worth and break barriers, Keiko Iteya fights to hold her own in a rigorous competition against 299 young men in Japan...
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"Sunshine-kun!" I called out with a smile.
My friend, who I hadn't seen in over a month, turned his head to look over his shoulder at me. His yellow eyes lightened. "Keiko-chan!"
I let out a small laugh, jogging away from where I had been walking with Charles and up to him. He met me halfway and opened his arms with an expectant grin. I did a small jump into them. "I've missed you, Meguru!"
"Back at you!" Bachira latched his arms around me tightly and pressed his chin into my shoulder. "You know you could text me more often! I thought we were best friends! You should be messaging me at least.... four times a day!"
"Four times?" I questioned in amusement with a raised eyebrow, pulling away after giving him a short hug.
"Yes! A good morning text, a lunch text, and a goodnight text at the least! And then just a text to tell how much you miss me," Bachira told me with a wide grin. "That one can be at any time of the day."
"Keiko-chan!" Otoya ran up as well, stopping at Bachira's side. "Can I get a hug too?"
"Haha! Nope!" I said quickly. "It's hilarious that you even asked that and thought I'd say yes."
The green striped boy let out a sigh and held up a hand. "Look, a guy can dream."
"Hey dude!" Karasu strode up to his former teammate with a smirk. "How have you been?!"
"We've been learning a lot from Lavinho," Otoya answered and gave Karasu a steely look. "Which we plan to use to defeat you today."
Karasu scoffed and tilted his head. "If you say so... but you haven't actually won a match yet since the league started." I smirked at his comment as Otoya deadpanned. "So.... try your best if you can."
"Hey! Don't count us out yet!" Bachira narrowed his eyes but was still grinning. "We are going to come at you with all you got."
"Let's hope it's enough!" Karasu chuckled before walking off and Otoya followed after him angrily arguing with what he said.
"Well! We better get to it!" Bachira said to me as he stretched his arms above his head. "I can't wait to play with you again, Keiko-chan! Even if it's on the other team." He smiled. "You and Isagi will always be my favorites."
His words warmed my heart and I grinned back and nodded before saying softly, "Me too, Sunshine-kun."
Like usual, I lined up on the front line and took a breath. The whistle blew and Charles kicked off to Rin, beginning the match. The Spanish team seemed to be strong with defense with the way they tracked us across the field. Even if I hadn't seen Bachira play in the previous matches, I could tell he had leveled up by his presence and confidence alone. He was buzzing with a new energy as he moved, dialed into his craft. The sight made me smirk out of respect.
