3.17. Ei.Yu.T

The day of the Barcha against Ubers game, Y/N woke up like normal. He followed his usual routine, brushing teeth, splashing cold water on his face, and doing a few quick stretches to wake his body up. He was equal parts excited and nervous - after all, there was no telling what could happen in the game.

In the Manshine/Bastard game, he'd lost to Noa. A fair one against one, nobody interfering, and he'd lost. Of course, he knew it was probably going to happen, but it just... didn't feel right with him. But he'd managed to score when Noa wasn't there.

But he'd used his teammates. He'd relied on them for help, to get his goal. Y/N didn't know if that was good or bad.

In any case, apart from the emotions inside, it was a normal day.

After breakfast, and a few more trivial things, he scooped up his phone. Any messages...? Usually, he had one or two, from other people inside the Bluelock facility on their group chat. Today? There was only one message, but not from the chat like he was expecting.

Ei.Yu.T has liked your post.

Ei.Yu.T has liked your post.

Ei.Yu.T has liked your post.

Ei.Yu.T has sent you a message. Click here to view.

Who... is this guy? Y/N opened it, frowning. It was the first time that he'd received a message from his unknown, probably stalkerish fan. Not thinking much of it, he looked at the message, reading it quickly.

His eyes widened.

Y/N's breath hitched in his throat, and he froze. His lips parted with shock. The phone tumbled from his hands, hitting the floor with a loud thud. He made no move to pick it up, drawing in a shaky breath.

Hands trembling, legs quivering, he stumbled for his bedroom.

His fingers clutched at the nearby door frame, digging into the wooden surface. Panic, anger, sadness, worry: a tornado of emotions rose in his stomach. He wanted to be sick.

In his bedroom. Y/N all but collapsed onto his bed, snatching the pillow with the desperation of a dying animal. He raised it to his mouth, pressing it against his own lips to muffle any noise.

Hot, raw, guttural emotion rose in the back of his throat. Y/N drew in one sharp, gasp of a breath-

Then, he was screaming. And he couldn't stop.

🥕🥕🥕

"Welcome to Neo Egoist League, match four! We have Italy's Ubers, playing against Spain's FC Barcha!"

Lights flashed. Bells dinged. The cameras whirred, capturing every inch of the room as the two teams flooded into the field. On one side, Bachira led the team with a huge grin on his face. On the other, Barou strode in front of his teammates, a terrifyingly dark look on his face.

"Who will take this game?! Last time, we saw Bastard Munchen and Manshine City go at it, with super goals from all sides, and an amazing finisher by the Mercenary, Y/N L/N!"

"Will we see Bachira Meguru's dribbling prowess? Will Barou Shoei show us why he's deserving of Ubers' striker position? Or will Y/N L/N outshine them all, yet again?!"

"I'm stoked for this game, Natsuki. These teams are literal polar opposites - Ubers have amazing coordination and teamplay, looking downright inhuman sometimes with how well they work together! On the other hand, Barcha prides themselves on fancy plays, solo runs, and a generally more loose style!"

"With such amazing players, we're bound to see an amazing game! So, get ready everyone, because Neo Egoist League's fourth match starts right now!"

Ubers began with the ball. From the very start, their team held the advantage. Barcha's players couldn't get a hold of the ball, or even slow Ubers down as they advanced up the pitch.

Ubers were the first team in the league to use any of the U-20 players. From the combined pool of Bluelock and the U-20 team, they'd chosen Aiku, Sendou, Barou, Niko, and Aryu - three of whom specialised in defence. On top of that, the foreign Ubers' players also tended to be more defensive.

But despite running a lot of defensive players, they were still scary on the attack. Don Lorenzo, Sendou, and Niko organised the team, slowly pushing forwards while trading quick, precise passes between them. Every time a Barcha player tried to stop them, they had a counter.

When Bachira tried to press, alongside a pair of his teammates, Ubers simply passed back, waited for Bachira to tire, and continued advancing. It was systematic. A calm, collected destruction of Barcha's defence.

Then, the finale came. As one, Ubers flooded into the goal area. The speed of their passing increased even more. Niko. Sendou. Lorenzo. And, surprisingly, to Barou.

Yet, the self-proclaimed king didn't shoot. He passed. And they continued. Niko. Sendou. Barou. Sendou. Lorenzo. Their passing continued, as Ubers' midfield players began to join in too.

And in the chaos, when Barcha's goalkeeper couldn't see a damn thing with all the bodies in his way, the ball went to Barou. He shot, choosing the perfect timing to slam the ball towards the top corner.

The ball went in.

It would be the first of three that game, as Ubers took the game with a clean 3 goals to Barcha's 1.

Sure, it was a good game. Everyone watching found it interesting. But there were also a lot of questions. Like, why was Japan's young prodigy, Y/N L/N, playing so poorly? Why did he look distracted, constantly staring at the ground like there was something to read in the grass?

He hadn't even scored a goal that game. Everyone had expected Barcha's goals to come from him, but no. The one goal that had been scored was from Bachira Meguru.

"With that amazing final shot, Barou Shoei closes the game out!"

"A hattrick here in the Neo Egoist League, unthinkable scenes! This is Barou Shoei's international debut, and boy, has it been a good one! Simply magnificent shots from him, and amazing coordination from the Ubers squad to get him that ball!"

"That's right!" The caster laughed, watching as Barou towered over the rest of his team. "Yep, show off, take a bow, you've earned it. What a game from him."

"Yeah. Although, I'm not sure if Barcha was in top form today. Maybe it's the clashing playstyles, or maybe they're not feeling it, but they didn't seem like the team we saw against Bastard Munchen at the very start of the league."

"I'll add on to that by saying, Y/N L/N had a pretty poor performance today. Not only does he not score like he has the majority of his games so far, but he didn't even manage to have that big of an impact! Yes, he was supporting his team. Yes, he was playing well, for an average player. And yes, he was getting close to scoring, but..."

The other caster took over. "But for a player of this calibre, I think many of you will agree when I say I expected more from him. A disappointing performance, but maybe he'll manage to bounce back next game."

On the field itself, Niko frowned. He looked up at the ceiling, listening as the casters spoke. Isn't that a little... blunt? Harsh, even?

His eyes, hidden behind bangs, drifted to Y/N. The other boy didn't look upset. In fact, it looked like he hadn't even heard what the casters had said. He sat cross-legged on the artificial grass, idly picking at plastic strands as he stared at the ground.

Niko hesitated. He glanced at Y/N. Then back to his team, who were heading off the pitch. Then back to Y/N. Then back to his team. Aiku noticed him waiting, and gave him a quick smile and thumbs up. Go to him.

So Niko went. He muttered a quiet excuse to his teammates, jogging over to Y/N.

The boy didn't even look up. Niko drew in a slow breath, pursing his lips. "Hi?"

Y/N looked up. Niko saw the dull look in his eyes, the forced smile that formed on his lips. "Oh, hey Neeks."

"Hi..." Niko took a seat next to him on the ground. "You... okay...?"

"Yup." Y/N nodded enthusiastically. "I'm great."

Are you really? Niko didn't immediately reply, searching Y/N's face for an answer he knew Y/N wasn't going to give him. Are you really though? What's been happening? What happened today? Why don't you talk to me? Why don't you talk to anyone?

But he didn't have the courage to ask any of those. So he sighed, settling for a simple question. "How was the game today?"

"I mean, not the best." Y/N gave a short laugh. "As I'm sure everyone's noticed. But you know, win some, lose some." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Okay..." Niko clenched his teeth. It was times like these when he wished that he was different. That he was better at talking. Because Y/N had helped him out before. And as much as he wanted to, he didn't know how to help back. "Do... you want to have dinner with us?"

"I'm good, thanks." Y/N shook his head.

"Y/N." Niko tried again. "Then... something else?"

"Niko." Y/N murmured. "I'm okay. You don't need to worry."

I do. I do, you idiot. So let me! "Please. Y/N." He swallowed.

"I'm okay." Y/N smiled. "I just had an off day, yeah? I'll be back next game, don't worry. And after that, there's the break, so I can relax for a while."

The smile should've calmed Niko. It just made him more worried. "Y/N, what is wron-"

"Nothing." Y/N cut him off. "Nothing, Niko. So stop worrying, please. You have another game in a few days, you should be focusing on that."

Niko wanted to try more. But he just kept his mouth shut, as Y/N stood up and brushed off his shorts. "I'll see you around, yeah?"

He left before Niko could even begin replying.

🥕🥕🥕

NEXT UP, IN THREE DAYS. BASTARD MUNCHEN VS UBERS.

NEO EGOIST LEAGUE CURRENT AUCTION RANKINGS.

Barou Shoei - 100,000,000

Nagi Seishiro - 88,000,000

Bachira Meguru - 66,000,000

Isagi Yoichi - 50,000,000

Y/N L/N - 45,000,000

Reo Mikage - 40,000,000

Rin Itoshi - 36,000,000

Chigiri Hyoma - 30,000,000

Y/N didn't look beyond that, his face lit up by the blue light of his tablet.

He'd skipped dinner - something that Niko, alongside a lot of other people, had noticed. Y/N knew the younger boy had left a box of food for him at his door, but he made no move to pick it up.

He was fifth. Ranked fifth.

And he couldn't concentrate. He couldn't get his mind off that message. That single message that had stuck in his head all day, making it difficult to even run without a distracted thought.

Ei.Yu.T had sent him a message. Eiji. Yume. He was a fool for not having noticed it earlier. He was a complete idiot, to think that they would leave him alone.

His fucking parents.

And out of all the times they could've chosen to message, they chose the moment where it would hit him the hardest. Where he would be the most damaged by it. Seventeen years of life, eleven years of not talking to them at all, and they'd sent a message now.

But he forced a grin, left the tablet on the counter, and headed to bed.

It'll be fine. I just need... some time.