"It" Can't Be Helped (Revised) | ✔️ | Blue Exorcist

45

"Hell yeah!" I shouted as I lifted my arms to give Bon a double high-five. "The play was ridiculous, how'd you pull that off?" I recounted the absolutely legendary moves my friend managed to perform as we walked back to our side of the field. The overhead sun beat against the back of my neck and I felt a droplet of sweat run down the curve of my spine.

"Honestly, I have no idea." He stated sheepishly whilst moving to wipe the moisture off his forehead. "I saw an opening and it's like all our battle training kicked in."

I chuckled, my next words low enough that others wouldn't hear. "It's a bit unfair having us on the field, don'tcha think?"

My friend hummed and shook his head, "it's no different than having the actual soccer players here. It gives us a slight advantage, but the other team has soccer players, too."

"Uh huh, but all three exwires are on our team. We've been kicking ass these last few days. I feel bad because the other team almost looks resigned to their fate." That got him laughing, but we had to go our separate ways to get into our respective positions.

The kickoff went smoothly, our team easily snatching the ball from our opponents. Maybe we all just meshed well as a team, or maybe having the three of us was truly an unfair advantage. I understood Bon's point of view, however, it was an understatement to assume the cram school students didn't work better under pressure. Sure, athletes had to learn teamwork, too, but it wasn't ingrained into their minds like it was with ours. One move outside of cohesion and someone could be gravely injured.

I snapped out of daydreaming when my name was called. I looked just as a teammate launched the ball toward me, I kicked it forward and to the side, dodging an opposing defender before he could steal the play. Several more players swarmed me and I glanced around to find an open player. I spotted an opportunity to passed the ball, relieving me of the bodies that had slowly trailed me. However, the other team swooped in and stole the ball from under my teammates feet. A holler from their side erupted in cheers and I smiled at their competitiveness.

Turning on my heels, I ran back toward our side, spotting a certain purple-haired girl in the right flank. Her knee was scraped from yesterday's gym class. I recalled playfully fawning over her until she smacked me over the head. The memory had my lips quirked. I'd been joking, obviously, Kamiki-chan was more than strong, it would take more than a knee scrape to get her complaining. But that didn't make it any less compelling to pester her like proper boyfriend.

Shit, we were getting a little too close to the goal. I panted and forced my legs to run faster, my heart pounding against my ribcage and I could see the beat pulsate behind my eyes. I launched forward, digging up the ground as I neared the box on our side. The opposing team was much closer, though, and I realized with dismay that they were about to score. The player reeled back his foot and kicked the ball. Our goalkeeper was an actual player on the school's team, however, and narrowly knocked the ball away from the netting.

Relief flooded me and I slowed down, leaning forward a placing my palms on my knees. My vision didn't seem to stop moving, though, and the grass below me seemed to gyrate in a sort of optical illusion. I closed my eyes, feeling my heated skin grow cold momentarily. Understanding the symptoms, my palms slipped off my knees and I bent forward until both hands and knees were on the cool grass.

A whistle cut through the air and it was only moments before someone was by my side. I recognized her voice as one of the defending players on the opposite team. I couldn't quite make out her words past my jumbled mind. A hand clasped my shoulder and I was pulled upward. I squinted and was barely able to make out Bon above me. Through my panting, I tried to explain my circumstance. "Hot - too hot."

Too soon, bodies began to swarm around me and I tried my best to tune out their concerned voices. Instead, I tried to focus on cooling down my heated body, breathing in deeply. I reached up and pulled at the collar of my sweat-drenched shirt. The fabric clung uncomfortably to my skin, and the airflow I got was minimal.