5. The Art of a King and His Confident Character.

Y/n's feet moved at an unrivaled pace, painting quizzical strokes as a reminder of his own talent on the ghosted field.

The only thing that was with him was that monster, and if you want to count the ball, I guess that was with him too.

A bead of sweat trickled down his nose, and his small figure huffed as he kept moving. His hair kept getting in his face and strands stuck to his forehead and the side of his face.

His eyes, locked on the ball, seemed cloudy. The (e/c) was dull and seemed a bit drained. He wasn't even thinking, he was just moving.

His legs were heavy and his feet were shaking, his ankles growing tight and difficult to move or lock properly.

He knew he was done when he slipped over the ball, accidentally stepping on it as he rolled his ankle slightly while his back collided with the ground.

A tall figure came into view as he lay there, huffing and wheezing with his eyes half-lidded.

"Are you scruffy?" He pushed up his glasses.

"What are you talking about?" Y/n looked at the guy. His hair was black. "Now I really see why they call you Zantetstupid."

"I didn't use that right?"

"No, scruffy means bad or messy, not okay. You just asked if I was bad or inefficient and out of shape," Y/n huffed. "Stretch my hamstring, my legs are cramped."

Zantetsu obliged as Y/n lifted his foot up, his leg forming an 'L' shape with his torso.

"How do I do this?" Zantetsu asked, sweat-dropping.

Y/n straightened out his leg a bit more, so it was only bent a little bit. "Push it towards me, but don't snap me in half. I don't want to end up like Gojo that one panel."

"What do you mean?" Zantetsu inquired, taking Y/n's foot in his hands and slowly pushing it forward.

Y/n waved dismissively. "Don't worry about it."

A pop (or crack) echoed.

"Did I do something wrong!?" Zantetsu let go immediately.

"No, dumbass. Gas was just released from my bones. My hips and my knees pop often." Y/n deadpanned. "Next leg."

Zantetsu sighed, repeating the motions once more.

Afterwards, Y/n just got up and left.

"Wait—"

"No," Y/n sighed, "I'm tired and hungry."

"Okay."

🥀🥀🥀

"So, Gagamaru," Isagi asked the taller male.

"Hm?" Gagamaru hummed with food in his mouth.

"You know Y/n, so..." Isagi had to find the right words. "How does he play?"

Gagamaru swallowed and coughed, taking a drink of his water. "I mean, it looks like he just follows whatever his body tells him to do."

"Like instinct?"

"I think he calls it proprioception."

"What's...pro...propiroo...propricep... The big word. What's it mean?"

"I think it's also called kinesthesia, but his just has a wider range of movement. It's the reason we're able to walk and kick freely without thinking about our environment."

"So we all have it?" Isagi's eyes widened.

"I think so. I just call it instinct because it looks like he isn't thinking at all." Gagamaru tapped his chin.

"You've seen him play?"

"Duh, I'm his cousin."

"Oh, right."

"Anyways," Gagamaru continued, taking a drink again, "He's fast, really fast. He's also really selfish on the field but that's just how he plays. He likes to work alone. He's able to go undetected after his first step, so I'd pay attention to the sounds, and listen for a really loud thump."

Isagi raised a brow. "Why?"

"Because that's how you know he's broken out into a sprint."

"Oh, alright. So his first step is loud?"

"Yes. However, the ground muffles it."

"Hmm...any look in his eyes?"

"His eyes are dull and a little cloudy, and he looks like a zombie. He's quiet. Way too quiet."

"Cloudy and dull?"

"And wide. It's like he's not even in control of his own body at all. He looks possessed."

Isagi had seen that look in someone's eyes before. "Wait..."

Gagamaru hummed, shoving more food into his mouth.

"I feel like I've seen someone look at me like that once before."

"He also pulled off a hat trick in one of his games until his teammates abandoned him. Poor guy went home pissed and wouldn't come out of his room for a good day. I think it also happened twice, like a week after ago his last game."

Isagi choked on his food, then beat his chest. "Wait so he's that guy!?"

"What guy?"

"The one that took on my team all by himself only to lose 4-3 before nationals! He fell to the ground crying and I felt really bad because it looked like he was trying really hard to win! All by himself! I wanted to tell him he did a good job but it looked like he was about to kill one of his teammates and fainted halfway there!"

"Oh, yeah, that's him. They had me carry him off the field while he was unconscious. He went to the hospital that night. But with what you're thinking about is the game before yours. He went to the hospital after your game, and stayed in his room before his most recent one. He didn't faint at the latter, his legs just stopped working."

"Really!?"

"Yeah. I didn't dare leave his side either time. He pushed himself too hard and pulled several muscles in his legs that it was difficult for him to run or even walk. He went home about three days after and I stayed by his side to take care of him."

"Isn't he really mean?"

"No, why would he be? He's really shy when it comes to school or anything besides soccer. His patience is really thin, though. His temper is also really bad. I saw him lose it on Raichi once," Gagamaru said and pointed a food-covered finger over to the mean blonde. "He also wished Y/n would die, so there's that."

Isagi's eyes widened again, only for him to squint as a new figure entered the cafeteria. "Do you know what he's ranked?"

"We talked yesterday and I saw he was ranked 221."

"Isn't that the best possible ranking for this building?"

"It's Y/n, of course it is. Although, I think he should be ranked higher."

"No kidding, I'd love to see him get really into the game sometime soon. I want to make eye contact with him and see if I can know more about him. Maybe we can go spy on him during practice?"

"You can go spy on him, I'm not getting killed."

"Right.."

Isagi shoved spoonfuls of his food into his mouth until he looked like a chipmunk, chewing hastily as he saw Y/n was already finished with his food. Damn, he ate fast.

Isagi hiccuped from eating too fast, and discarded of his tray, making his way to the path Y/n was taking.

Back to field the short boy went, to practice over and over again. The next time he collapsed, he would go shower and sleep.

Isagi peeked around the doorway. (It gets fruity.)

This wasn't a field...this was Team V's locker room! He must've seen the time and decided he was already too pooped to engage in more practice, or his adrenaline ran out.

Isagi's face flushed pink and he retreated.

He muttered to himself, "Better luck next time."