─ 𝐂𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐃 ─

➤ third selection iv.

        𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐖 his arms open wide as he stepped inside the room with a massive grin. Two males were on either side of him, but the one that caught (M/n)'s attention was the one on the right with a braid coming down.

"Homage!" Igarashi exclaimed.

"Igaguri?!" Bachira's jaw dropped.

Everyone who knew the male was wondering how he, of all people, made it this far.

However, what really caught (M/n)'s attention was the following male who stepped out from behind Igarashi.

"Reo..." (M/n) mumbled.

He completely forgot all about him. Should he go hug him? Was Reo mad or angry? Did he unknowingly ruin their friendship?

Reo walked up to (M/n) with a hard glare. (M/n) gulped in fear of what the purple-haired male would say.

Though, he was shocked when Reo shoved him into his chest harshly, hugging him tight.

"Reo...I'm sorr-"

"The next time you leave me like that again, we'll seriously have a problem. Okay?"

(M/n) nodded, this time hugging his friend with love.

Nagi watched from a distance. He wasn't going to hug him, but he was glad to see that he had survived.

The last player soon entered the room, and everyone stared at him.

'That guy.' (M/n) hid behind Reo.

"That's all, folks," Shidou said with a grin.

'Bugs bunny, who?' (M/n) giggled quietly to himself.

"These are all the players that have cleared the third selection." The voice spoke again.

"Hey, Reo," Isagi walked up to him. "Why isn't he with you...?"

(M/n) watched a shadow overtake Reo's face as he quieted down.

"Who?" (M/n) asked.

"Kunigami..." Isagi answered, turning back to Reo. "He wouldn't...let things end this way!"

"It's over." Shidou interfered. "I sent him right to hell."

Isagi (M/n) and even Chigiri were shocked to hear this.

"Well...he's got a good physique for sure...He was forthright and pure and beautiful. But, on the battlefield, it doesn't matter if you're a good guy. People who can't live for those explosive moments are trash and have no value in my story. That damn pure hero...was like a slime who couldn't even help me level up."

"Tch." (M/n) crossed his arms. He was starting not to like Shidou.

Shidou glanced downwards and noticed the pouting (M/n), and his grin grew.

"(M/n)~ I didn't see you down there~"

(M/n) glared angrily at Shidou. Was he seriously about to make a joke about his height right now?

"Whoa, whoa. I'm just picking, babe." Shidou held his hands up in defense. "Didn't you miss me?" He slung his arm around his shoulders, whispering in his ears.

"Not really." (M/n) said truthfully. "I forgot you were even in Blue Lock."

Shidou gritted his teeth, but a smile was still intact. "Awh, what a shame. Maybe I can give you something to remember me by~ Hm, how does that sound, cutie~?"

Shidou swiftly licked (M/n)'s earlobe before nibbling on it a bit.

His first instinct was to quickly back away, but he couldn't because Shidou was gripping him hard.

Rin had trouble controlling his anger. Would (M/n) be upset if he punched somebody or broke their bone or two?

All the simps inside the room were about to do something, but Isagi beat them.

He yanked Shidou's hand off with anger evident on his face. Not only did Shidou say all those things about Kunigami, but he also dared to flirt with his crush.

"Eh?" Shidou lazily glared at Isagi.

"Stop. Can't you see he's uncomfortable?"

"Hm, I don't give a damn." Shidou turned around to kick Isagi. "Stay the fuck outta this."

Before he could hurt him, though, Chigiri quickly pushed him out of the way.

"Chigiri?" Isagi groaned from the sudden impact.

"What's his deal...? What a pain in the ass..."

"For real." Bachira cracked his knuckles, walking forward. "If you wanna go, I'm down." Bachira narrowed his eyes at Shidou. "You're not gonna touch (M/n) like that and think you can get away with it so easily, you tanning-bed freak."

"It's from sunlight, not a salon." Shidou chuckled, certainly amused by the responses he was receiving.

The monitor soon interrupted them, and Ego appeared.

"Okay, that's enough, you lumps of talent. Any further violence...or harassment will result in forcible expulsion."

"And...none of you have time to worry about who dropped out. After all, your soccer careers are in danger of disappearing forever like worthless trash, along with Blue Lock."

Ego further explained how the bigshots of Japan are working on getting rid of Blue Lock, so he decided to send them a challenge.

The U-20Japan team vs. Blue Lock Eleven.

If they win, they get to steal the honor of representing Japan in the U-20 World Cup. If they lose, it'll go down in history as a failure in the development of Japanese soccer.

"But that said...Our opponents are working out how to earn a sure-fire victory. The Japanese U-20 team you'll be facing has added another member: Sae Itoshi."

(M/n) turned to Rin, scared of his reaction. Rin couldn't believe what he was hearing or seeing. He would finally get the chance to play against his big brother.

"Let's go, my lumps of talent. We'll be the ones to bring about a new era."

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        𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄! It was nighttime. It was one of the few times where (M/n) could sneak out and do what he wanted without Rin or Bachira bothering him.

Carefully walking out of the room, (M/n) stood out in the hallway and whipped out his phone.

He went through his phone contacts and pressed on the name he was looking for. The person picked up on the first ring, which (M/n) already knew would happen since they seldom slept.

"(N/n)?"

"Ken, hi!"

"What's up? Shouldn't you be sleeping right now?"

"Shouldn't you be sleeping right now?" (M/n) snapped back, to which Kenma sighed.

"Touche."

"Anyways, I'm just really bored and couldn't sleep. Wanna play a game?"

"Genshin?"

"Sure!"

NEXT CHAPTER: THIRD SELECTION V.

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— yay we're PROGRESSING !