Ethereal ✦ Blue Lock

26||Match Estamblished

Chapter 26: The Phantom and the Monster Go to War

Song: Ain't it fun

Ain't it fun living in the real world? (nuh uh)

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Ryouta's POV:

We entered the second stage room, the air thick with the weight of what had just happened. It should've felt tense, maybe even a little suffocating, considering our first match had been a loss, and if we didn't pull through in the next one, one of us would be out of here for good. But, instead, I couldn't help but look around the room with a sense of calm, finding a bench and plopping down with a sigh.

"Is this where you're gonna get thrown out if Ego finds you trash?" I said, my eyes scanning the empty room before sitting down, my tone light, almost casual. It wasn't that I wasn't taking things seriously, but I didn't see the point in stressing over what hadn't happened yet.

Bachira followed suit, his usual grin stretching across his face as he dropped beside me. "Yeah, I guess so. We just wait here until we find someone else to compete with, I think."

I nudged him playfully, poking him in the side. "Don't tell me you're already bored. I thought you liked chaos."

Bachira shot me a quick glance, his grin never wavering. "Chaos? I live for it. You know that."

I leaned in closer, a smirk tugging at my lips. "Good. 'Cause our next match will be undone without our victory."

Bachira laughed, nudging me back, his eyes sparkling with the usual energy I couldn't help but admire. "You're such a troublemaker, Ryouta."

I leaned back, crossing my arms with a smug smirk. "Hey, if there's no trouble, what's the point? Just makes things more fun when it all goes to hell."

Despite the looming pressure of losing, we stayed there joking around, letting the tension slide off us. I knew we should've been worried, maybe even a little stressed, considering the stakes. But honestly, life was too short to be bogged down by the small stuff, especially when we still had a chance to turn things around.

After a while, the door swung open, cutting through the light chatter in the room. Two figures walked in, both of them carrying the same weight of a lost first match. The first one was Kunigami, his usual stoic expression unreadable. 

Behind him, there was another figure who entered more slowly, looking almost as if the pressure of this whole thing was starting to weigh on them.

The door swung open, and the moment I saw him, I was on my feet. "Reo!!" I shouted, not giving him a second to react before launching myself at him like a missile.

"H-hey, stop, Ry—" Reo barely got the words out before I tackled him. The two of us hit the floor with a thud, my weight landing squarely on top of him.

"Чёрт возьми, Cнежинка!" (Damn you, Snowflake!) he groaned, his voice muffled as he lay sprawled beneath me. he pushed himself up from the floor with a sigh, looking exasperated but clearly not angry, more like this-is-Ryouta-being-Ryouta irritated.

I scrambled off quickly, standing and dusting myself off with an unapologetic grin plastered across my face. "Чё, Рео! Как дела, скучал по мне?" (Yo, Reo! What's up? Miss me?) I teased, offering him my hand to help him up but fully expecting him to swat it away, which he did.