𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐍 | 𝐍𝐚𝐠𝐢 𝐒𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨

07. DM

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please??"

"I don't care how pretty your please is."

You scoffed as Chigiri continued to shoot down your request for a matcha. You had left your wallet at home, Bachira was simply broke, and you already owed Isagi at least fifty bucks.

At the moment, your little friend group was out and about, walking downtown Shibuya to windowshop and wind down after the tournament. You, Bachira, and Chigiri had just hopped off stream to go and meet Isagi, who was training his football skills in the real world. He was a pro athlete after all, it was kind of expected.

And now you'd just passed by a super cute tea shop, inciting the begging that was ticking Chigiri off.

"Come on! My treat for making seventh place." You whined, grabbing onto his arm and shaking it back and forth playfully.

"Half-seventh place." Isagi corrected.

"That doesn't make sense." You huffed. "Whatever, Nagi Seishiro can suck it. I'm seventh, so is he, I need matcha!"

"It tastes like grass!"

"All the more reason to let me drink it all."

"How about we go somewhere we all like?" Bachira suggested. "I mean, we all made top twenty. That in itself is crazy!"

"Okay, I've been selfish." You sigh, "Where do you guys want to go? I'm good anywhere as long as there's sweets."

"How about... mochi?"

So, the four located the nearest mochi restaurant and began munching away. You and Chigiri got strawberry and were planning on sharing it with each other, Bachira got brown sugar, and Isagi chose a humble green tea flavor.

It's been a good while since you sat down and had a real, long conversation with these four all together outside of an online call with thousands of people watching. It's refreshing, as you can finally be your true self around the three without the weight of not saying anything controversial or personal.

Tonight's topic of conversation was naturally Blue Lock— their true feelings about the tournament.

Isagi wanted to improve himself. He didn't really care about the money, no matter how many jokes he cracked online about using it to buy new cleats. He figured that a game about soccer could properly quantify his skills, and that he could learn more about himself and his mental playstyle through the tournament.

Bachira wanted to play. He loved football with his heart, mind, and soal— the only thing he wanted to gain from this tournament was the opportunity to play with like-minded individuals who loved the sport as much as he did.

Chigiri wanted a way to play football without risk of injury. He had torn his ACL in his right knee during his youth, and it screwed up his mentality and ability to freely run without worry. He found solace in video games throughout physical therapy, and Blue Lock seemed to be the opportunity he'd been waiting for.

As for you, you were dying to finally have a shot at competing in the sport you fell in love with, but was never able to play.

"Let's hope that Itoshi guy folds under pressure..." You murmured, leaning your cheek on the palm of your hand. The four of you now sat in a booth inside the mochi restaurant. You could remember how skilled he was in the year prior— he placed just above you by the smallest margin of points.

"I can't believe he's already first." Isagi yawned. "He was originally placed ninth last year, right? Talk about improvement."

"Improvement-shmoovement. Yoichi, you've moved up at least fifteen places since last year's first selection. If anyone's improved, it's you." Chigiri rebutted.