Ethereal ✦ Blue Lock

09||Falling from Grace

Chapter 9: The Ball is mine, The Team is... Not so much

Song: Enemy

Pray it away, I swear 

I'll never be a saint, no way

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Aiza(Ryouta)'s POV:

Team Z kicked off, with none other than mr.Слабак himself as their striker.

"Oh, joy," I muttered, rolling my eyes. Who let this clown near the ball? Are we short on players or just short on standards?

They started charging forward, trading passes with each other.

I wasn't having it. I darted in and snatched the ball halfway through their little passing show.

"Thanks for the assist, guys! Really appreciate it," I called with a laugh, launching the ball over to Keisuke. He caught it with ease and started trading passes with his brother.

Then, bam—an orange-haired guy came out of nowhere from behind Junichi. Younger Wanima shouted a warning, but before he could react, Bachira swooped in from the other side and took the ball away.

For a second, it looked like he just handed it over on purpose. "The fuck are you doing!?" I yelled after him. "You know we’re wearing green, right? Not blue?"

Bachira lobbed a high pass toward the penalty box. And then, Mr. Слабак jumped up, completely unchallenged, and went for a header.

Our defenders didn't even try to stop him, and our goalie stood frozen as the ball 'accidentally,' found its way into the net.

"Wow. Just... wow." I muttered, shaking my head with a deep sign.  "Do I clap now, or do I wait for the encore?"

Team W - 1

Team Z - 1

"Yeahhh!!" Kuon shouted, his voice echoing across the field as his teammates rushed to him, celebrating like they'd just won the whole tournament.

I didn't say a word, just shot a glare at my team, making it clear what I thought of their play—or lack thereof.

The first 30 minutes ended and Team Z switched positions. Older Wanima tried to get the ball back from the other team, but instead of playing smart, he yanked on the guy's shirt.

Another 'accidental' mistake, faul. They were getting a penalty kick now. 

Bachira stepped up to take it. My eyes narrowed. I could already guess what was coming.

He passed it to Kuon. Again.

Kuon jumped high, almost effortlessly, and—of course—scored. Another goal for him.

Right, let's just blame the fucking wind shall we?

Team W - 1

Team Z - 2

After the first half ended, we dragged ourselves into the locker room. They looked completely unbothered, not even sparing me a glance, like I wasn’t the one carrying their sorry asses out there.

"Hey..." I muttered, my hair falling over my eyes as I kept my head down. "Did you guys... make a deal with that loser?"

Slowly, I raised my head, my glare burning with pure disgust. It's not betrayal if we're in Blue Lock, right? Betrayal's practically in the handbook.