『𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝』𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘴

「𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆₁ » ᴋs

〖  part one   〗

THAT EASY

"ISAGI!"

He turns blindly, seeing a blur of a Paris jersey and a headband hurtling straight for him. He's fast enough to receive him, Nanase pulling him into a bear hug that sends him stumbling back a few steps.

Isagi grins, clapping him on the back. Another voice speaks up, and the grin slides off his face.

"Back the fuck off, Yoichi. You're in my space."

He sends Kaiser a sneer as he unfortunately does as told, stepping out of the unofficial line they've drawn between them as they practice. Most of the teams stick by each other during free practice, as instructed by Noa, to build chemistry. Practicing six feet away from Kaiser hasn't been doing anything for their dynamic but doing a lot more to his sanity. "You don't have to tell me twice," he mutters.

"It'd be great if you could take whatever you two are doing out of my sight. It upsets my stomach."

Nanase awkwardly untangles himself from Isagi, whispering a "sorry" with a frown that has Isagi seeing red. Who the fuck does Kaiser think he is to go around fucking with his friends? "You're fine, Nanase. Kaiser-" he says, louder, "-can fuck right off back into the hole he crawled out of and then maybe he'll learn some fucking m-" Kaiser turns around with a shit eating grin on his face, just in time for Nanase to grip his shoulder, cutting him off and pulling Isagi back out of Kaiser's "zone."

Kaiser makes a motion for Ness to stand down. "What was that, Yoichi? Do you wanna finish that?"

Isagi sends him a final glare before turning back to Nanase. "I haven't seen you in a minute! How've you been?"

Nanase's grin comes back, full force as he answers, "Great! Paris is really, really great. I'm learning so much there." The doors a couple yards away slide open and Isagi's eyes naturally dart to the movement, watching Nagi walk in, heading straight for Reo. He catches his eye and waves. Nanase continues, "I ran into Hiori at lunch and asked which practice field you normally use. Is he here?"

He shakes his head. "He just went in, like, twenty minutes ago."

"We could have had a little reunion," Nanase huffs. Isagi hears a very clear tch coming from Kaiser's direction and he chooses to ignore him.

"Aw, that would've been fun," he admits, bouncing the soccer ball on his knees, switching legs from time to time. "What time does Paris normally have lunch?"

Nanase grimaces. "Late. Loki hates us. The only reason I saw Hiori is because he needed me to run to the nurse's."

Isagi snorts. "Rin and Shidou?"

"Rin and Shidou," he confirms with a laugh.

Isagi laughs as well, nearly losing control of the ball before saving it with his foot.

"You're really good at that," Nanase remarks.

He grins. "Thanks! Bachira's the one who taught me. He's amazing at it." It's a good way of practicing with his metavision, as he's found out. Focusing on a separate conversation and looking away from the ball but still knowing where it is at all times.

Because of it, he spots Nagi heading towards them before Nanase does, who claps him on the back. "Alright, I should head back to my team now! See you at the game!"

"See you!"

"Fraternizing with another enemy?" Kaiser asks with a smirk, not bothering to even turn around. Ness shoots a shot his way, and he traps it effortlessly, sending it back.

Isagi doesn't have time to bite out a response before Nagi nears, so he refrains, sending him a scowl instead before turning away. "Hey, Nagi. What's up?"

Nagi doesn't say anything, stepping behind him, so Isagi focuses back on the soccer ball, tracking its movements in silence.

"Not bad."

"You think?"

"Yeah. You're good."

He grins, and he can feel his face warm at the praise. It's one thing for Nanase to say so, but a complete other thing for Nagi, who's a god at ball control, to say the same. "Thanks, man!"

Isagi catches the ball, turning around to face him, taking a step back at how close Nagi was standing to him without realizing.

Nagi steps forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Really good." He leans down, close enough to feel his breath, and gives him a slow once-over. "There's a reason they call you Blue Lock's ace."

He blinks, swallowing. "Are-Are you messing with me?"

"Yeah," Nagi admits easily. "Did Reo notice?"

Isagi can't see much with how close Nagi is, but he shrugs. "Um. Probably."

"Hmm," he steps back. "Thanks, Isagi."

"Anytime," he responds blankly. Nagi turns around, and the two of them watch as Reo storms out of the practice field. Nagi follows and Isagi looks at the ball in his hands, blinking to refocus himself.

He throws the ball in the air, bouncing it once, twice, before he misses the last bounce. Isagi clears his throat, trying again. He gets to five, this time, before he remembers the way Nagi towered over him and somehow sends the ball careening a few meters away.

"Shit," he mutters, jogging to go grab it, face burning. On the way back, he catches sight of Kaiser observing him with a raised eyebrow and a hint of a smirk. "What, asshole?" he snaps, returning to his place.

Kaiser laughs, tinged with incredulousness. "Is that all it took?" he tilts his head. "Clearly it was."

"The hell are you talking about?" The field seems to have gotten hotter, and Isagi runs a hand through his hair.

"A couple pretty words, stepping a little too close?" Kaiser stalks closer, tossing his own soccer ball to the side. "If that's all it takes," he says, dropping his voice, "I think I could ruin you in seconds, Yoichi."

"What-What the hell do you think you're doing?" he hisses.

Kaiser's eye glints, catching the light. "Or was it the praise that got to you?" He muses, "Just a few compliments and you're done for? Just like that?"

Isagi looks up, meeting his eyes in defiance before realizing that Kaiser...also kind of towers over him. "Fuck off back to your spot," he says finally, "you definitely need the practice."

"You certainly don't." What- "That pass to Yukimiya last game? Fucking majestic. I'll admit, you really one upped me there. It won't happen again, of course, but you looked pretty damn good doing it."

Did he really- "Kaiser-"

"Aww," he coos, bringing up a hand to tilt Isagi's head up, and then to the side, as if inspecting him. "You're already blushing! It really is that easy!"

Isagi grabs his wrist, shoving his hand away. "Shut up. You're so fucking annoying." He steps back, and Kaiser lets him, mock pouting.

"C'mon, Yoichi, I was just playing with you. No harm done."

Isagi doesn't respond, already turning to leave.

"Yoichi!" Kaiser calls, and he doesn't bother turning around, at least not until, "Aren't you forgetting something?" Kaiser spins a soccer ball - his soccer ball on a finger. Fuck, he doens't even remember when he took it from him - dammit. 

♚ ♚ ♚

Kaiser does nothing else all night, giving him his familiar arrogant smirk in greeting the next morning. Kaiser turns back to Ness before Isagi can glare back, so he hurries into his place in the crowd, squeezing Kurona's shoulder in hello.

Noa steps in front of the team, carrying a clipboard. "Scrimmage today." They've done scrimmages before, so everyone naturally begins splitting into their usual teams, but Noa raps his pen against the metal loudly before the chatter can arise. "I'm choosing teams this time. Listen up:"

He lands on a team with Kunigami, Kurona, and Hiori, along with five or so Bastard players he really only recognizes by jersey number.

"Four minutes to switch jerseys and talk strategy. Go."

♚ ♚ ♚

His team is winning, 3-1, when Kaiser starts smiling again.

Isagi has figured it out by now. Kaiser smiles when things are going in his favor, or about to be going in his favor. He'd dropped his grin a minute into the second half, when Isagi's team had gotten two points ahead of Kaiser's team.

Yukimiya gained control of the ball, traveling up the field with it, and for whatever reason, Isagi glanced at Kaiser and the bastard was smiling. They had two points on him, and he was smiling.

He doesn't have time to figure it out: Yuki, after traveling half the field on his own, is finally cornered and passes to the only option - Isagi.

Isagi twists his way through Grim's defense and nearly runs into Kaiser: the one person who his metavision can never keep track of.

Kaiser's smile is easy and sweet, but his eyes are locked onto Isagi and the ball, calculated and sharp, despite whatever he's trying to project. "You look good when you win, Yoichi."

"What?" he snaps. There's an opening on Kaiser's left that would put him directly in Teppei's line of fire, but-

His eyes flash. "It's hot. The sweat makes your hair curl a little, and you always look on top of the world. You look...really good."

Good? He catches sight of Kurona behind Teppei, and suddenly he no longer has the ball.

Kaiser whizzes past him and he's dribbling through defenders and he's scoring and he's smirking back at him, no trace of the charming smile he wore just seconds ago.

"What the fuck," he says, mostly to himself as the events of the past thirty seconds rush back to him.

"It really is a sight," Kaiser drawls, barely out of breath. "You winning, I mean. A shame we won't be seeing it today."

And sure enough, Isagi's team loses their lead and loses the game.