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22.AVERAGE JOE
*⋆｡˚𖦹࣪˖ ִֶָ⋆｡°✩
IT'S
almost strange being alone on this silver bench. It's not something that's ever brought you comfort—no, not in a million years—but it was almost common knowledge to yourself that you'd always have somebody right there next to you. Somebody of the same gender—a woman, with a softer voice and kinder heart than most men here.
This bench never brought you comfort—but something about that did, maybe, it was the reality that you'd always have somebody here that you could relate to.
But now, here you were, sitting alone on the sleek metal, bag resting beside you with one too many water bottles. Your notebook no longer lies on your lap, but rather is stuffed haphazardly inside your bag and forgotten as you watch them stretch and warm up—preparing for the match against Barou and Naruhaya.
You usually can't hear what they say on the field due to the loud grass crunching beneath their feet and the sheer intensity of the match (and due to how far away you are, but that doesn't sound as cool), but this time, you can hear Isagi clearly call out, "Naruhaya. I am going to crush you. Don't hold back."
Naruhaya doesn't even glance at the ball resting under Isagi's foot, nor does he look at anything other than Isagi's face. Something you do see, however, is that he clutches his pants with a crushing force—crimpling the material underneath his touch. Nonetheless, his cunning grin doesn't fade when he speaks, "Goes without saying."
The whistle blows, and Isagi kicks off to Nagi—but that also goes without saying, because that is his only team member on the court—who is facing off, head-to-head against Barou. Nagi tries to dribble his way past him—but it seems the king has greater reflexes, and easily forces the ball away from Nagi and runs towards the goal. Isagi's the only person left in his way, and Naruhaya moves away to the side like he's waiting for Barou to pass.
That moment never comes—and Isagi is left standing dumbfounded when Barou blasts the ball into the goal, seeming to be in his desired shooting range (something you know because of how Kunigami explained it). Team Red—Barou's team—scores a point with seemingly no effort.
You don't let yourself grow nervous. Not like last time—no, you stay strong, and shove all your negative emotions into your palm, where you'll leave it gripping the edge of the bench and not seep into your mind.
The kick-off begins again, and Nagi passes to his teammate. Isagi—who is getting marked by Naruhaya—tries to dribble around the bushy brown-head, but fails miserably—each path he goes to, Naruhaya goes quicker. Nagi is in front of Barou and shuffles around, yelling something out to Isagi. Those words must have been something demanding, because immediately after, Isagi passes the ball Nagi's way—but it's far, too far.
