NIKE -Blue Lock-

Play with me

Nicole was quiet in her position, with her hands in her pockets and her weight resting on one leg.

A posture so mindless that Raichi, from the other side of their half of the court, wanted to run and beat the crap out of her.

But he didn't, just as no one else did. And that was because there was something in her blood-red eyes, or in the aura that surrounded that mindlessness of hers, or in the fixed gaze in Reo Mikage's.

Because everyone had seen the way the two of them were staring at each other, and everyone understood that the ruckus would soon break out.

Nicole more than anyone else.

The resume whistle resounded in the room, and the purple-haired boy's foot hit the ball.

Nicole's red eyes shifted to the sharp-toothed blond, and a knowing sparkle flashed in her gaze.

She knew exactly what was going to happen three minutes from that moment.

"FINE, I'LL DO IT-" finally Raichi's defensive nature had gotten the better of his dispassionate desire to be a striker.

The blonde stepped into the path of Reo's run, beginning to annoy him with his words and movements.

Reo gritted his teeth, refusing to let go of the ball until he came to a specific spot on the opponent's field.

What a big mistake on his part: he should have passed that ball when he had the chance.

A red-haired figure snapped in front of the two, catching them off guard.

Raichi and Reo's eyes went wide as soon as they saw that the black-and-white ball was no longer in front of their feet, one thinking that the other had managed to pass it to one from his own team and vice versa.

"What the hell..." whispered Kunigami, gaping as soon as he could make out the figure's tousled red hair.

His gaze followed, or at least tried to follow, as closely as possible the silhouette of his friend, feeling a mixture of emotions within him that he himself could not decipher.

"No way..."

Chigiri's eyes glittered at such a display of speed, not knowing whether to be jealous or aghast at the potential of the boy who until then had never set foot on the field. 

Nagi, who had been waiting for the pass near the opponent's net, imperceptibly squeezed his eyelids as he saw the ball not approach him as expected.

His gaze shifted to the number 3.

"Eh, so he really is a monster." said Bachira excitedly and at the same time slightly shaken, approaching Isagi, who had remained still and motionless in his position.

No one really but the blood-red-haired figure and the entire V team was moving, too enraptured by the scene they were witnessing.

"STOP NUMBER 3-"

"STOP THAT ASSHOLE-"

"WE ARE 8 AGAINST 1, WE WILL NOT LET HIM PASS-"

But they let her through.
And how they got her through.

Or rather, how she passed them all.

With a calmness and mastery that seemed like she was playing against stationary targets.

The girl made a dash toward the player in front of her, never changing direction or speed despite him being exactly in the middle of the trajectory.

The boy grinned at first, aware that he could catch the ball since the person in front of him seemed incapable of making at least a feint.