Ascension│Bluelock x male reader

2.7. Dangerous

Isagi received the ball well. His mind was working in overtime, drawing in information from the entire pitch. Only the four defenders were in formation, and one of the midfielders. Everyone else was in the goal box or near it. He ran forwards, carrying the ball with him as Bluelock formed up behind him.

He didn't know what he needed to crack their defence. His attempt before had been easily shut down by Aiku. Using his teammates' weapons had only resulted in the other team stealing the ball. And sure, there were only a few enemies defending, but the majority of Bluelock was still getting back to the front line.

"Isagi!" Rin shot past him on one side. He was breathing heavily, not at all concerned that it was practically just them two against five enemies. Both eyes locked onto his own. "Remember."

Of course, Isagi remembered. Just focus on Rin. That's all I need to do. It wasn't an impossible challenge, nor was it trivially easy. It was right in the middle, a task that would challenge him to the best of his ability.

Suddenly, those words sounded familiar. Ego had repeated those, before the game started. Focusing on Rin wouldn't be boring, nor overly stressful. A perfect challenge that would... unlock flow. Isagi passed across to Rin, immediately running to the taller boy's other side as they ran straight for the defence. The rest of their team was fast catching up.

It's clear what I need to do. Isagi narrowed his eyes at Rin's back. Discard any unnecessary thoughts. Just concentrate on what I can do, right now! Use everything I have on building my plays with Rin!

They locked eyes a second time, but a few light footsteps ahead of them drew both of their attention. The single midfielder left in their way cut them off, huge bags under his eyes and hair tied up into a bun. His voice was quiet, dull. Sort of like Nagi's, if Isagi was being honest. "Yep."

They didn't slow down. Both Isagi and Rin sped up, perfectly matching their pace without even meaning to. The man didn't seem bothered. "Trading passes in the middle isn't gonna cut it. Yep, you're lost."

"Kiss my ass, eyebags." Rin growled. He sent a speedy pass right across to Isagi, who was shadowing him. Rin went left, Isagi went right, and the defender was stuck in the middle with no idea which player to target.

As soon as they got past the midfielder, Isagi slowed a bit. Two of the U-20 defenders were near enough to him, watching both him and Rin. The midfielder they'd just got past was already on their heels. He sent the ball back to Rin, speeding up immediately forwards. Rin received it easily.

Before the enemy could try to steal the ball away, Rin stopped suddenly. It was a move that reminded Isagi of a certain small boy, his momentum completely stopping within a few steps. The eyebags guy overshot by a mile, struggling to stop in time, and Rin used the back of his heel to hit a frighteningly accurate pass backwards.

Bachira was there to receive. In fact, their entire team was there, having pushed up from their box. The enemy players were just starting to return, but they were uncoordinated, and unprepared. This is our chance!

There were two defenders directly in front of them. Nagi was being marked by both, but as Isagi peeled to the right, one of them came at him. He craned his head, moving sideways in an attempt to shake off the defender. Shit... I just need to get this guy away! It's a free goal!

As Isagi ran further to the right, and Nagi stayed put, a gap opened up between the two defenders. Into that gap, Rin ran.

He stopped the ball with one foot, still moving forwards. It was him, against the goalkeeper. One breath in... and as he shot, he exhaled fast. The ball could almost have been laser-guided, with the sheer accuracy that it was fired for the top corner. The crowd screamed as one, their roar of excitement filling the entire stadium.