3.32. Ultra-Bubbly

"Just go. Y/N. Get to a city."

Y/N's father spoke, the sound for some reason making his gut heavier. Y/N reached out a hand. It was just them two, in an apartment Y/N recognised to be his own. Nobody was there. So why was Eiji looking away from him? Why was he holding that gun out, brandishing it against the window of the apartment?

"Papa...?" Y/N quietly said. He reached out a hand. "What...?"

"Go, Y/N." Eiji replied. He didn't turn around. "Get to the car, now."

Y/N swallowed. Then he frowned. Why was his apartment so warm? He didn't like it being too hot...

"Get to the car, now." Eiji repeated. Y/N edged closer to him.

"What are you looking at?" He asked nervously. "There's nobody here. You don't need that gun."

"Get to the car, now."

Y/N blinked. A drop of sweat ran down his face. Why was it so hot? "You keep saying that, papa. Why? Why do I need to get to the car?"

Eiji took a step. He turned around. Y/N's blood ran cold.

His father's face was pale. Incredibly pale. Deathly pale. A thin line ran across his throat, leaking blood that ran down his neck. "You wasted the chance." Eyes rolled back in his head, an unmistakable anger in his voice, he took a step towards Y/N. "Little godling."

Y/N backed away from his father's walking corpse. "What...?" Why was it so hot?

"Get to the car!" Eiji screamed. "Get to the car... I died for you to get to the car!"

Why was it so hot?

Why was it so hot?

Y/N glanced around. Orange began to lick at the corners of his vision. The floorboards blackened, Eiji's clothes began to burn. Why was it so hot? "I don't... understand!"

"You never did." Eiji grinned, and in that, Y/N saw Kuroi's sadistic smiles.

Why was it so hot?

Eiji walked forwards. Y/N looked down. His apartment looked normal, didn't it? So why was it so hot? The bedroom door swung open. Flames rushed out. Why was it so hot? Y/N didn't know.

"Get to the car." Eiji repeated. He strode for Y/N. Y/N staggered back. Eiji grabbed his arm in a cold grip. Apart from Y/N's arm, his entire body was so, so hot. His skin was burning, turning a pinkish then red colour. Flames engulfed the room. Why was it so hot?

Eiji walked to the window. Y/N's face was grabbed, shoved against the glass. Outside...

Tokyo was burning.

Skyscrapers became pillars of flame. The streets flowed with rivers of lava. Screams rang out from every single possible place. A plane dropped from the sky, exploding in a bloody fireball in a park. It wasn't a city anymore. It was hell.

Y/N saw Eiji's face reflected in the window. A brutal smile came out from between bloody teeth.

He shoved Y/N's face right through the window, and Y/N fell into the flames below.

🥕🥕🥕

Y/N woke up shaking, sweating. He threw off his blankets instantly, welcoming the cold night air.

Raising a hand to his forehead, pushing back hair, he sighed shakily. "What... was that?"

Y/N moved to do what he usually did after a nightmare. Get up, wander through his apartment in the dark, get a cup of water, walk to the window, drink it while looking out. But when he slid out of bed and walked straight into a railing, he remembered where he was.

And what had happened to his apartment.

The penthouse was dim. The huge floor to ceiling windows had been mostly closed off, and the sounds of the city were quiet, distant far below. Though, as Y/N's hands found the wooden railing, he realised it wasn't quiet pitch black.

A soft yellow light came from one corner of the balcony Y/N slept on. Y/N looked over, squinting his eyes to see Sae sitting in a small armchair.

The man had one leg folded over the other. He was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, lit up by a lamp fixed to the wall above him. And he was reading a book. Y/N turned his body, accidentally kicked the railing post, and cursed.

With tired eyes, Sae looked up from his book. He reached above him, angling the light towards Y/N. Y/N scrunched up his eyes, grateful when the light left him just a second later.

"Hey." Sae's voice was quiet, calm.

"Hey." Y/N managed. He settled for sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at Sae in the dim light. "What are you doing here?"

Sae shrugged. "I guessed you wouldn't want to be alone when you woke up."

"How'd you know I'd wake up?" Y/N quietly asked.

"Having your house burnt down by a psychopath tends to do that to you." Sae muttered. "You're awake now, so... nightmare?"

"Yeah." Y/N admitted, hanging his head. "Nightmare."

"Hm." Sae stood up. He flicked on a light switch, the apartment lighting itself up in an instant. Blinded by the sudden brightness, Y/N waited for his eyes to adjust. "You're awake now. I need to see your arms and hands."

"Why..?"

"You're burnt, Y/N." Sae chided. "We have to make sure they're not going to get infected. Or worse."

Y/N sighed, tiredly flopping onto the bed. Sae clicked his tongue. "I'll bring the medical stuff up here." Y/N closed his eyes, hearing the noise of Sae walking down the stairs a second later.

He must've drifted off, because when he blinked his eyes open, the harsh artificial light had been replaced by a soft pink glow. Y/N blinked a few times. His position had been changed ever so slightly, going from having his legs hanging off the edge of the bed to being fully in the centre.

White gauze covered his arms and hands. Y/N touched his neck, feeling another patch on the side. He stared up at the ceiling, his chest warming with an unfamiliar feeling. Sae had fixed him up.

Y/N slowly got to his feet, sliding out of the bed. The overhead lights were off, all the lighting coming from the now uncovered windows. The windows that displayed a bright sunrise, orange and pink reaching across the sky. Y/N's breath hitched in his throat.

He slowly padded down the stairs, feeling... unusual. It was strange. He'd exposed himself just last night, broke down every single wall he had between his past self and himself now. And he was okay with it.

In fact, he felt safer. He didn't need to hide anymore.

As Y/N reached the bottom of the stairs, he was hit with a sense of deja vu. Sae stood at the counter, lit up by the morning sunlight. His hair was tinted a slight orange, white shirt and shorts more of a pink colour. Against the backdrop of the morning cityscape, he looked unreal. Like something painted.

He raised a pan from the stove, depositing whatever was on it onto a plate. And then he turned to Y/N. "Morning."

"Morning." Y/N quietly responded. "I... uh, thank you. For the bandages."

Sae shook his head. The smallest of smiles played along his lips. "Don't thank me." He picked up two ceramic bowls, heading for the table. "Follow."

Y/N followed. Sae'd cooked eggs, depositing two in each bowl on top of rice. A bowl of miso soup was placed next to each plate, and between them, smaller dishes of steamed fish and vegetables waited. Y/N glanced across at Sae. The warmth in his chest expanded.

"I cooked the eggs properly this time." Sae dryly said.

Y/N gave him a matching small smile. "Thank you." He headed for the table, taking one seat. Sae took the other, watching Y/N from across the table.

They ate in silence. Y/N was still tired, incredibly so. Sae was more than content to let him relax, unwind, and destress for a while.

Eventually, Y/N spoke first. "So... what next?"

Sae hummed. "What do you want next?"

Y/N's eyes widened. He sighed. "I don't know. I have to apologise to some people. And... I need to go to the police."

"For Kuroi."

"Yeah."

"Kuroi's secret facility hidden in the mountains that experiments on people." Sae flatly said. "Do you have evidence?"

"No..."

"Nobody will believe you, Y/N." Sae murmured. "I understand helping the people there. But you need to go with enough evidence to get them to investigate."

Y/N slumped. "I guess."

"We can do the apologising, though." Sae added. "Ego wants to talk to you anyway."

"About what...?"

"Something strange." Sae shrugged. "I do not really understand what that guy says."

"Oh." Y/N hesitated. "Can... can it wait?"

"Sorry?"

Y/N stared down at his bowl of rice. "I don't really wanna talk to him yet. Can we put it on hold or something?"

"Yes." Sae nodded. "Probably until the next game, Manshine City against Barcha."

"How long?"

"Three days."

Y/N sighed. "I don't need that long. But... a day or two would be nice."

"Whatever you need." Sae dug his chopsticks into the rice, lifting some to his mouth. "Do you want to do anything?"

"Not really." Y/N pursed his lips. "Nothing."

"Nothing." Sae repeated. He nodded slowly. "Sounds nice."

They quietly ate the rest of the food, between them finishing everything. Sae was constantly watching Y/N, looking for any discomfort that his bandages might cause. But there was nothing. Y/N didn't look happy, but he looked much, much better than the shaking, sobbing mess he'd been the night before.

Looking at him, it was clear how much had affected him recently. The shine of his eyes had dimmed, the energy that he'd bounced around with before the U-20 game had lessened. Sae knew that it was probably temporary, but it was still concerning to see.

Maybe doing nothing will be good. Sae looked across at Y/N, at the dark circles under his eyes. Some rest.

Y/N met his eyes, tilting his head slightly. "Hmm?"

Sae blinked. "Just thinking."

"Oh. Okay." Y/N stood up, stacking the plates and bowls. "I wash, you dry?"

Sae stood up as well. "Okay."

The two headed for the sink. Y/N reached down, frowning as he studied the drain. Sae gave it a second, letting him fumble around with the plug, before nudging him aside. "You push this thing," he said, pressing a metal bump. "And then it plugs."

"Oh." Y/N pulled it back up, then pushed it down. He placed all of the dishes into the sink, running the hot water and squeezing a generous amount of dishwashing liquid in. Sae hesitated. He'd put a very generous amount.

"Uh..." Sae murmured. "Too much soap."

"Huh?" Y/N glanced back. The sink rapidly filled with bubbles, more bubble than water. Y/N shook his head, groaning. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You already put it in." Sae muttered. "Not my fault."

"Why is it so..." Y/N poked at one of the bubbles. "Bubbly?"

"It's normal washing fluid."

"It's ultra bubbly." Y/N corrected. "I have a normal one in my hou-" He froze. Then hung his head. Sae sighed, feeling guilty for no reason.

Y/N was letting the water run for an awfully long time, though. The level of the bubbles rose, and more only filled the sink. Sae could barely see the tap knob through all the bubbles. "Y/N."

"Yeah?"

"My sink."

Y/N turned back to the sink. He tried to reach for the knob, turn the water off, but just ended up releasing more. While he was struggling with the controls, Sae reached out. He swiped a blob off the top of the soapy mass, and dashed it along Y/N's nose.

Y/N's face scrunched up, and he sneezed.

"W-what?!" Both hands flew up to his nose. His face and neck flushed with red, and Sae wished he had his phone to take a picture of the innocent, lost expression Y/N had on his face. "Why?"

Sae shrugged. "You look silly."

Y/N frowned. Then he plunged both arms into the mass of bubbles, and threw it at Sae's face.

Spluttering, the taste of soap filling his mouth, Sae brushed it away from his mouth and eyes. What he didn't know was that by doing that, he'd made himself a little beard and bushy soap eyebrows. Y/N fought a smile.

They stood there. Y/N wiggled his eyebrows. Then Sae got him right back, slapping the pile of bubbles so hard that Y/N quite literally was covered in them. He snorted, more coming from his nose, and Sae cracked a wider smile.

"You fucker..." Y/N made for the bubble pile again, but Sae was there too. The two of them nudged each other, trying to toss as much soap on the other person as physically possible. Sae's grin grew wider, and so did Y/N's.

"It's in my eye!"

"Same...!"

"You started it!"

"You escalated it!"

"Escalation my ass, do you even know what escalation mea-" There was a surprised gurgle, then the sound of Y/N spitting out soap. "Ah, fuck! In my goddamn mouth?!"

"Stop swearing, or it'll be bleach next."

"You motherfrickin- frick fri-" Y/N spluttered. "Again?! I didn't even swear!"

"I don't need a reason! It's my soap!"

"I used it!"

"How does that give you ownership?!"

"I'm not a lawyer?!"

More spluttering. More soap thrown. 99.9% of the bacteria in the air was killed as bubbles covered the kitchen area. "Stop getting it everywhere?!"

"I'm aiming for you only!"

"You have terrible aim?!"

Sae grabbed the bottle of cleaner, and squeezed the plastic casing till the entire thing was emptied into the sink. A virtual bush of bubbles bloomed in the space of a few seconds. Y/N was stood right next to the sink, and as bubbles piled up, they began to cover him.

"Sae, help!"

"What?"

"I'm dying under here!"

Y/N struggled, arms flailing. But it wasn't good enough as the bubble bush grew, swallowing him whole. Sae laughed, laughed loud. "Escalation."

"Augh... mff..." Y/N screamed. "I'm drowning!"

"In bubbles?" Sae laughed, pushing more bubbles onto Y/N.

"Noooo....!" Y/N collapsed to the floor, the bubble bush stuck to him like one of the facehuggers from Alien. Albeit a very soapy, very fragile one. He gasped dramatically. "I see the light."

"Y/N, that's bubble."

"Everything is going white..."

"Like I said, bubble."

"I'll see you in hell." Y/N groaned dramatically. Then he lay silent, splaying his limbs out wide. Sae's grin was the brightest it'd ever been in a long time.

Then both of them realised something at the exact same time. Y/N had left the taps running. Water sloshed over the marble counter, flowing onto the floor. Y/N's eyes widened under the bubbles - then he squeezed them shut again as what felt like an entire bucket of water was dumped on his face.

He shrieked. Sae laughed. The midfielder made his way to the sink as well - only to slip on the flooded marble and crash to the floor. It was Sae's turn to yell, and when Y/N finally managed to pry the bubble monster off his face, he laughed.

Sure, it would only last a few minutes. Sure, he was still traumatised, unsure of himself, scared of anything and everything. Yet. He...

Laughed.

Bright and unrestrained, his shoulders shaking, dripping with warm water, bubbles sticking to him all over. He laughed, high, sweet, and filled with childlike happiness.

And Sae laughed with him.