NIKE -Blue Lock-

Pollock's art

I finished my exams (I'm honestly convinced I'm god in this moment) so now I'm finally freee
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Five days later
Oliver's pov

"Come on captain, what's keeping you so busy that you can't come to karaoke with us?"

I sighed, bringing a hand to my head and shaking my hair with my fingers.

"You guys know how it is. A man like me... it's not my fault that women take my time away." I joked in a mocking tone, while in the background I could hear the voice of one of my companions yelling something like "fucking womanizer."

I smiled slyly, as my tired eyes shifted to the girl's week-long sleeping body.

"You're with women more than you are with your teammates, you're insane." complained the boy I was talking to on the phone, as my gaze dared not tear itself away from her face.

"Couldn't be you uh?"

"You damn manwhore." laughed the other, and then finally decided to say goodbye and end the call.

I pulled the phone away from my ear, while my heterochromatic eyes remained fixed on the profile of the sleeping figure on the hospital bed.

I looked at those lips of hers that were slightly drier than usual, those cheeks imperceptibly more hollowed out than normal, that duller skin. I watched the sheet covering her ribs rise and fall slowly, in rhythm with her slow breathing aided by the artificial respirator.

I sighed heavily, standing up from my chair and leaving the room, deciding to head for the vending machines to buy myself yet another coffee of the day.

On the way, a few female nurses and doctors greeted me with their smiles, receiving one of my sly grins in response.

It had been a week, a little less, that my day had been working that way: I'd arrive at the hospital, I'd ask a doctor about Nicole's condition, stay by her side until late, and when visiting hours were over I'd be dismissed.

Every day passed by either Anri Teieri, the beautiful woman who months earlier had surprised me and Nicole in the latter's apartment, or Ego Jinpachi, who had claimed responsibility for the girl.

He had said he was Nicole's guardian when the doctor had asked for a parent's contact.

I didn't even know who the father was, so I said nothing.

One or two days Shidou Ryusei, the prodigy's demon, had also visited, obviously accompanied by the prodigy himself, Sae Itoshi.

Finding out that a person inside the Blue Lock, a place full of hormonal boys, knew about the redhead's real identity had left a bitter taste in my mouth.

It was Nicole we were talking about though, so it was no surprise: she liked playing with people even more than sports.

At least she had always given me that impression.

I lowered my gaze to the brown surface of the coffee, staring intently at those little waves that stained the white paper of the cup with every tiny movement I made.

The night of the match came back to my memory. The very night where I had discovered why the girl disappeared without a word. The very night where I first saw the true furious eyes of Victory herself. The very night when she had fallen into my arms. The very night I understood that something was wrong in Nicole's life.

The very night when she had fallen asleep without waking up ever again.

A coma.

No big deal, really.
It was not one of those comas that would last for years and years, hovering between life and death.