Chapter Text
“Hmm?” Tachibana was surprised when she had a mail in her mailbox. Is this for Tachibana? Right, the receiver is ‘Tachibana Hotaru’. Though, Tachibana wondered who this is from… She opened the mail and her voice resounded through the neighborhood:
“JAPANESE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION!!!?????????”
It would not be an understatement to say, Tachibana was more than freaked out.
- - - - -
“ ‘Sup, Tachibana. What’s up with the fuss?” The resident erotica mangaka yawned into his sleeve. He appeared tired as usual, although Tachibana was sure that he had more than enough sleep or he spent time watching porn or Masamune-san.
“Right, it is too early.”
Speaking of the devil, it was Matsuoka, the heartthrob host in all of his glory. Without clothes.
“Matsuoka-san, please put on your clothes!”
“Oh, Mattsun, looking good as usual.”
“Of course, it should be expected from the number 1 host.”
Matsuoka winked and Tachibana was exasperated. In the background, Yukimura swooned.
“Haha, rowdy as usual.”
At this point, Tachibana wanted to cry. Why… why was Midori-san of ALL people here!? Doesn’t he have work to do!? People to save!?
“But fun won me over.”
Huh? He was not making quite the sense.
“You spoke it out loud.”
The sadist doctor’s boy toy helpfully picked it up.
Oh. Oh.
Tachibana felt her face burning.
The big tits loli nurse scowled, “How dare you catch Midori sensei's attention!” As usual with her, speaking things that did not make sense to Tachibana.
Who wanted to catch that sadist's attention in the first place!?
“Midori sensei, since you have already seen what you wanted to, how about we go back?”
…It seemed like no one was preventing anyone from being a masochist.
“Midori-san, please punish me!”
Make it two.
Slowly, Tachibana’s gaze drifted to the sky. The clear blue sky usually never failed to put her in a good mood. Now, it only made her feel as if it was mocking her.
“SHUT UP! OR YOU WILL MEET TACHIBANA’S JUSTICE!”
From nowhere, there was suddenly a (fake) gun in Tachibana’s hands. Midori smiled: “I knew it will be fun.”
The big tits simped, and the boy toy also pulled out a (fake) Gatling gun from nowhere.
“We can’t afford to fall behind! Yukki!” Matsuoka swept his hand and shouted with a vigorous yell.
“On it, Mattsun!”
Guns, guns, guns.
Bullets (Also fake) started flying everywhere.
From hesitated reluctance to eager participation.
Tachibana was not gonna admit it but… it was fun. It was the last time Tachibana was with them and the guns, before Tachibana was locked up in the so-called, ‘Blue Lock’ program, which was nothing short of jail.
- - - - -
“Blue Lock?” Kanae questioned, taking a bite of her muffin. “I have never heard of that.”
“Me too.” Tachibana sighed.
“Have you asked around? Ya’know, those friends of yours. Yeah, those suspicious guys who play with guns.”
Suspicious guys who play with guns… Tachibana sweatdropped. Then again, that quite fit them.
“Oh.” Kanae looked down, melt ice cream falling on her big chest that Tachibana couldn’t help but be jealous of. She sadly looked down at her own flat chest.
They were of the same age yet Tachibana had always been seen as more of a guy than a girl. Even her teammates and friends at TCG except Midori-san failed to recognize her as a girl.
Still… their reactions had been funny when she exposed her gender.
Tachibana mused, her mouth full. Wait, her mouth full???
“Kwanae?”
She stared at her best friend with a pair of questioning eyes, chewing the strawberry flavor muffin in her mouth. Just taking a glance at Kanae’s hand had her know that Kanae tore off a piece of her own muffin to shove it in her mouth.
Kanae ignored her and sipped her beverage. “So, are you going?”
“To that something Lock.”
“Blue Lock.” Finally finishing the dessert in her mouth, the flat-chest girl corrected her.
“Yeah, yeah, something Lock. Are you going?” Kanae dismissed her attempt to correct her and instead, asked the most important thing weighing her.
Is Tachibana going? In fact, Tachibana herself was also feeling unsure. Should she go or not? In the first place, Tachibana did not play soccer that much. And to be honest, she had never touched football until Masamune-san and Yukimura-san urged her in disguise for the betterment of the ‘Team’s better coordination’.
And it worked. Miraculously. From that moment on, the trio went off and intruded on various teams, be it high schoolers teams, or neighborhood teams.
Speaking of which, the other teams at TCG found out about their little ‘secret training’ and came to play with them whenever they want. And it’s not fair Midori-san is good at whatever he does…
Memories of one Midori Nagamasa resurfaced in her mind. Seriously, that guy was such an overachiever.
“Ouch, ouchie!” Tachibana snapped out of her brooding at the pain felt on her cheek.
“Who are you thinking about!?” Kanae’s beautiful face enlarged, her hand on Tachibana’s cheek, stretching it like mochi. “You are pouting!”
Ah. That's the reason. Kanae was the kind of possessive friend. So, it wouldn’t be a wonder to see her getting mad at her best friend thinking about others in front of her.
Kanae would generally stay quiet or comfort her when Tachibana had worries on her mind or was anxious. But she had the so-called ‘Tachibana senses’ as she quoted it, that could let her know when someone was on her mind.
She was such a good friend. Tachibana was glad to have such a friend at her side.
“Your answer?”
Tachibana’s answer? It seemed exciting. Despite how Tachibana didn’t spend much time on soccer, Tachibana enjoyed it very much. Besides, it’s only soccer, not dangerous like survival games, so, mother wouldn’t object to this, right? But… Tachibana’s school? And Matsuoka-san? Yukimura-san? HaruHaruki? Toy Gun Gun? TCG?
“If you want to go, go.”
Tachibana looked up. The speaker didn’t do the same. Eyes still trained on her beverage, slowly stirring it with her straw. “I’m sure the student council will be okay even without you as the president. I’m the treasurer and have a lot of voice as far as I’m concerned.”
That’s true… Kanae’s very popular.
“I’ll take care of the school. And… and, I’m sure that those friends of yours would also agree if you really want to go.”
Kanae finally looked up, her eyes reddened.
For a moment, silence reigned. Although Tachibana also wanted to go, guilt was holding her back.
Clap. Clap. Clap. “Such a good speech.” One man destroyed that silence.
“Midori-san!”
Tachibana almost stood up in shock. Why was he here? His shift shouldn’t have ended at this hour.
Midori pressed her shoulder down, and said: “Youth only lasted forever.” His dark green eyes neither objecting nor encouraging.
Tachibana couldn’t help but think, if it had been Matsuoka-san or Yukimura-san, they likely would’ve told her to do what she wanted. If it was HaruHaruhi, he would have scowled and somehow insult her, all bark and no bite, in the end, he would also tell her to follow her heart.
This was Midori Nagamasa, a person who she first thought was a good guy, later then, evil, in the end, she learned that people neither good nor evil existed in the world.
It was not only white and black.
This was a man who destroyed her common sense.
She thought back to her experience. From just an ordinary person, she met Matsuoka-san, then was led to a whole new experience called ‘survival games’.
She had a lot of fun and heat rushing to her veins, excitement unlike any other. That time in under a year felt the most alive to her. After leading the Toy Gun Gun to the top with everyone, and winning the TCG tournament, she had to part with everyone because her hospitalized father was in a dangerous situation.
Fortunately, her father survived -thank all the kami above- and she came back to them after that. She was now 17, newly reunited with friends and foes (more like ‘frenemies’).
Could she depart with them once more?
To this new experience called ‘Blue Lock’ she doesn’t know anything about? Soccer was fun and Survival games were fun but she loved being with her friends more.
All of a sudden, Midori-san’s words came back to her mind. ‘ Youth only lasted forever.’
That’s right. Youth only lasted forever. She was now 17, she would soon reach adulthood. Just like how survival games went… why not go crazy once more?
“Yes, I’m going.”
Tachibana’s eyes bore into another’s, determined. Midori Nagamasa smiled.